Fanning The Flames
by peter-pan-equals-luv
Summary: *COMPLETE* After months of no contact, Kurt finds out that Blaine is Sophie's new teacher. They come together again to overcome past difficulties and to see if those same sparks could turn into flames. Sequel to Sparks Might Fly. Probably should read that first.
1. Chapter 1

**Please read the note at the end :)**

"Not to be rude or anything, but what are you doing here?" Kurt asked, stepping a little closer.

Blaine's eyebrows furrowed. "I thought you knew; I'm Sophie's teacher."

"O-oh." Kurt blinked. "I- Things have been hectic at work, I haven't had a chance to look at her paperwork." He shifted nervously. "When did you start here?"

"I was sort of a last minute hire on, actually. The husband of the teacher they originally hired was reassigned to Connecticut and they asked me to take over." Blaine bit his lip before continuing. "You aren't mad, are you? I mean, I know I didn't leave on the best terms. And, hey, didn't you have to give a reference? How did you not know?"

Kurt blushed guiltily. "I've had Leigh handle all that recently. I know we can't talk long because you have to get to class, but would you- I mean, you don't _have_ to-"

"Kurt, would you like to go to dinner one night and catch up?" Blaine asked, cutting off his stumbling reply.

"I would like that a lot." Kurt smiled and then bit the corner of his lip as he bent slightly to look Sophie in the eye from her perch in Blaine's arms. "Now Sophia, I want you to be good at school today, okay? Listen to Blaine and _no throwing things_," Kurt told her sternly.

"She didn't drop the habit?" Blaine asked, wincing slightly.

Kurt sighed. "No. I'm going to kill Finn one of these days." He booped Sophie's nose. "I'll see you in a couple of hours, okay, kiddo?"

"Don't worry, Kurt, she'll be fine." Blaine smiled at him.

"I know she's in good hands with you." He stood there awkwardly for a moment before clasping Blaine's arm, squeezing his bicep gently. "It's good to see you again, Blaine."

888

When Kurt returned to pick up Sophie a few hours later, he and Blaine set up a time and place to meet. They still saw each other most mornings when Kurt dropped off Sophie but moments for long talks were few and far between. Finally, Saturday came around and they met at a restaurant that Blaine's mum had said was fabulous the last time she and his father had come to visit. They settled at the table, both too nervous to say anything.

"So how's Sophie doing in school?" Kurt asked, hating the awkward silence.

"Good, she's doing really well. I think it helps that she's familiar and comfortable with me."

Kurt smiled. "I really am glad you're her teacher. I was pretty worried about putting her in school with a bunch of strange kids and adults."

Blaine nodded. "I think she would have done okay but it definitely helps that I'm there, I think."

Kurt chuckled. "Well, that's one way of putting it." He took a deep breath, biting the corner of his lip for a moment before continuing. "Look, that night... I was out of line and I'm sorry, I shouldn't have, I guess, _attacked_ you like that. You said no and I should have listened." He reached out, resting his hand on Blaine's on the table. "But I need you to understand, I wasn't doing it just because I was drunk or vulnerable. It wasn't like before, when I kissed you. I was telling the truth that night; I would have much rather stayed at the flat with you and Sophie, watching the ball drop on Times Square."

Blaine just stared at him, his brow scrunched. Kurt started to pull his hand back, thinking that perhaps he was wrong. Blaine grabbed it before he could move away, flipping his hand so that he could link their fingers together. "No, wait. I just, I'm thinking."

Kurt squeezed gently. "I've thought a lot about this, us, my feelings for you after you quit." He caught and held Blaine's eyes. "I want us to be friends again, at least."

He took a deep breath, steeling his nerves. "Kurt, you have no idea how many times I picked up the phone to call you and just... didn't. I wanted to talk to you, to tell you how much it hurt not to talk to you, to let you know how much you mean to me." He ran his thumb over Kurt's knuckles idly as Kurt inhaled sharply."I hated that we weren't talking because we used to be kind of close, you know? I missed our morning talks over coffee and all the short jokes, even." Kurt grinned, biting his lip. "I just, when something happened, like when I got a job performing at the park this summer, all I wanted to do was call you and tell you. I even pulled up your contact information but I just chickened out."

"I saw you in the park," Kurt told him. At Blaine's shocked look, he explained, "Leigh told me I should go because it would be fun and we saw you perform. Sophie tried to run on stage," he said with a laugh. He glanced at Blaine through hooded eyes. "I- I heard your songs. That second original one, that was mine, wasn't it? I saw a paper called _Kurt's Song_ when I was taking care of you when you got sick and I recognized the notes when you began playing."

Blaine blushed. "Oh, you heard that? Uh, yeah, that's, that was your song." He lifted Kurt's hand, not saying anything until he looked up. "I meant what I said. The story isn't over."

Kurt cleared his throat, blinking against the sting of tears. "I wanted to call you too, you know. I must have thought about doing it a dozen times a week but I didn't think you would want to talk to me after what I did. And not just when Sophie learned a new word or something, but when something funny happened at the office or I had a bad day, I wanted to call you and tell you about it. You always knew the right words to make me feel better." They were forced to separate their hands as the waiter came over with their food but not before Blaine squeezed Kurt's fingers one last time, smiling at him reassuringly.

They made small talk throughout the meal, Kurt telling Blaine about the replacement nanny who had had been forced to let go, how she did well with Sophie but couldn't manage it at the level Blaine had, hadn't been able to really get Sophie to eat and Sophie hadn't seemed that fond of her anyways. She had lasted all of three weeks before Kurt had let her go, albeit reluctantly. Blaine relaying his adventures in job hunting and going into more detail about how he had wound up at Sophie's school, the principal calling him two week prior to the beginning of school and telling him if he wanted it, the job was his, provided he could make a lesson plan in a week to be turned over to the board for review.

When it was time for them to leave, Blaine glanced at the cheque and pulled out his wallet only to have Kurt snatch the slip of paper, glaring slightly at Blaine.

"Kurt, no, I asked you out, I'll pay," Blaine protested, trying to grab it back and getting his hand smacked in the process.

"No, Blaine, I'm paying." When he opened his mouth, Kurt reached out and clasped his hand. "Please, Blaine, it's the least I can do."

Blaine stared at him for a moment, his eyes searching before he nodded, patting Kurt's hand. "We'll get through this, you know," he said as Kurt placed his card on the tray.

"The awkward phase?" Kurt asked, a smile pulling at his lips.

"Yes, that," Blaine chuckled.

"Well, I've always subscribed to the theory that if you point out the awkwardness, it will go away," Kurt replied loftily.

"Well, here's to hoping, then." He cleared his throat. "Kurt, there's something I want to say before we go any further."

"Sure."

Blaine looked up, searching Kurt's eye for a moment. "I want to take this, this thing between us slowly. We kind of rushed last time, did things in the wrong order and it turned out badly, to say the least." Kurt looked down, blushing. "But I want to try again, if that's okay. Slowly rebuild our friendship and see where it takes us."

Kurt looked up, nodding. "I'd like that, Blaine, I'd like that a lot." He signed off on the cheque when the waiter brought his ticket over and they were walking out of the restaurant when Blaine stopped him.

"Would like you to get coffee with me tomorrow?"

Kurt fidgeted nervously. "I don't know if I'll be able to find someone to watch Sophie..."

"That's fine, bring her along. Maybe we can go to the park or something instead." Blaine smiled at him.

"Are, are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure." Blaine started walking again, getting away from the front of the doors into the muggy night air. "I mean, if you want to."

Kurt nodded. "That would be good." He checked his phone reluctantly. "I really should get going, Jen's watching Sophie." He made no move to hail a cab though, slowly walking next to Blaine.

Blaine stopped at the corner, turning to face Kurt. "So, coffee and the park tomorrow then?" he asked as he leaned over to hail a cab.

"Sounds great. Three o'clock okay?" Kurt watched as Blaine opened the door for him and he stepped down the curb.

"That's fine with me." He hesitated for a moment before leaning in and kissing Kurt's cheek. "Goodnight, Kurt," he murmured as he stepped back.

"Goodnight, Blaine."

888

Kurt was practically floating as he knocked on the door to his brother's flat. Jen opened it a moment later, a half asleep Sophie on her hip, and smirked. Kurt took his daughter before following Jen inside. "What's so funny?"

"Your face, Kurtsie. You're smiling like you just won the lottery," she informed him, gathering up Sophie's things.

Kurt scowled at the nickname. "I told you not to call me that. And I think I would be more shocked looking if I won the lottery, considering I've never played it."

"Whatever, dude, you look really happy," Finn said, coming around the corner and handing Jen a glass.

Kurt leaned in to give him a hug before doing the same with Jen. "Yes, well, it was a good night. Thanks again for watching Sophie for me, Jen, I really appreciate it."

"Hey, I helped!" Finn said indigently.

Jen let out snort. "You got home five minutes ago, don't even try."

Finn just rolled his eyes, ducking down to give Sophie a kiss before moving aside to let Jen do the same as Kurt shouldered her diaper bag. "That's all right, Jen, I knew he didn't really have much to do with it."

She laughed as Finn let out a huff. "Whatever, bro, see if I watch your kid again," he groused. Kurt rolled his eyes at the empty threat as they exchanged goodnights and he headed back down to the cab waiting to take them home.

888

At two fifty eight the next afternoon, Kurt and Sophie entered the agreed upon coffee shop. He spotted Blaine sitting in the far corner, a cup of coffee and a book in front of him. Kurt stopped to get his coffee order and something to drink for Sophie before going over to him. Sophie let out a squeal when she saw Blaine, squirming out of her father's arms and running over to him.

"Baine, Baine, Baine!"

Blaine closed his book and stood just in time to scoop Sophie up, laughing as she threw her arms around his neck. "Hi there, Miss Sophie," he cooed, hugging her back. "You would think she would be sick of me after seeing me all week," he commented as Kurt sat down, having walked over in at a more sedate pace.

"Aw, she just missed you, I think." He flashed Blaine a smile.

"I missed you, Miss Sophie," Blaine informed her warmly.

"Miss you!" she chirped, settling in his lap when he sat down.

"I missed you too," Blaine said, peeking at Kurt through his lowered lashes.

Kurt smiled slightly. "Even though we had dinner last night?"

"Even after getting dinner last night." Blaine blushed, shrugging. "I went from seeing you nearly every day to not speaking to you. It was difficult to adjust to."

Kurt reached over, patting his hand. "I know, it was the same for me. But let's talk about less depressing things for now."

They talked about nothing for a few minutes but eventually Sophie began fussing, wiggling around in Blaine's lap until Kurt suggested they head to the park. She slid down, pulling on Blaine's hand until he stood and then repeating the process with her father. Even after they walked outside, Sophie was still demanding, asking first for Blaine to pick her up, then switching to her father, then back to Blaine. Kurt checked the time, deciding it wasn't too late before pulling out a small container of crackers and offering them to Sophie.

She immediately quieted, taking a cookie and telling him, "Tank you."

Kurt smiled, looking up in time to see a look cross Blaine's face. "What?"

Blaine shook his head, letting out a little chuckle. "I was just thinking about that time at the airport when I pulled out the crackers."

"Well, they worked so well," Kurt said, blushing slightly and hoping the redness would be attributed to the late summer heat. "Much better than my dried fruit."

Blaine let out a peal of laughter, shaking his head. "The fruit was a good idea, though; I remember she really liked it."

"So did Finn," Kurt grumbled, rolling his eyes before holding out the container so that Sophie could get another cookie. "Delia couldn't stop talking about you for weeks after that visit. She-" He hesitated, glancing at Blaine briefly. "She thought we were together, back then."

"Really?" Blaine couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter.

Kurt nodded. "Apparently we're just blind or something." They made it to the park then, Sophie pulling Blaine off to play while Kurt took up residence on a bench with Sophie's diaper bag and Blaine's satchel, which he had handed off at Kurt's insistence.

He watched as Blaine chased Sophie around, his muscles flexing under his well fitting light blue polo as he lifted her up, carefully spinning her before setting her down so that she could stumble away from him, giggling. Even the dress shorts he was wearing cupped his ass nicely and Kurt forced his gaze up. Even though he wasn't technically Blaine's employer anymore (except in the roundabout way of him being Sophie's teacher), he still felt as though he shouldn't be, well, gawking at Blaine.

Sophie eventually got distracted by some other kids and Blaine walked over to where Kurt was seated, sitting a slight distance away as he tried to catch his breath, his face red from exertion and the heat. Kurt chuckled as Blaine plucked his sweaty shirt from his body, trying to get a little cool air circulating.

"Do you want a wipe?" Kurt offered, gesturing to Blaine's sweaty face.

He laughed. "What, do I smell?" He sniffed himself and pulled an exaggerated face. "Oh, I can see why you would offer!"

"Hey, I was just trying to be nice. Now you can sit in your sweat, mister," Kurt told him, trying his hardest to remain straight faced.

"Aw, why are you so mean?" Blaine pouted, looking at Kurt with these huge puppy eyes until he broke, laughing and pulling out Sophie's wipes. He watched as Blaine took one and ran it over his face and neck quickly, Kurt admiring the lines of his jaw and the way the blue of the shirt complimented the dark tone of Blaine's skin. They talked as time flew past and when Kurt's phone beeped with a text, his eyes bugged at the time.

"Oh, god, we've got to go soon, it's almost dinnertime," he said, his fingers flying over the phone as he typed the reply. He looked at Blaine as he tucked it back into his pocket. "Can we do this again sometime?"

Blaine smiled brightly. "I'd love to. I know you go to print next week, so when would be good for you?"

Kurt couldn't help but feel a little touched at the fact that Blaine remembered when the magazine went to print, even though it hadn't been that long ago, but sighed as he remembered the luncheon he had to attend. "I have plans next weekend, but what about the weekend after? I'm free then."

"That's Labor Day weekend, isn't it?" Blaine frowned when Kurt nodded. "I can't do it then."

Kurt's face fell slightly. "Oh." Two weeks with only seeing Blaine when he dropped off Sophie at school didn't feel like enough for him after the long separation.

"I'm sorry, I have some friends coming in from out of town. It's kind of a tradition."

"That's fine." Kurt smiled, standing and brushing off the back of his pants. "Maybe we can get coffee the next weekend you're free?"

Blaine stood as well, grabbing his bag. "I'd really like that. I'll see you tomorrow?" At Kurt's nod, he leaned in, pressing a kiss to his cheek, a shy smile on his face when he pulled back.

**A/N: Hey everybody, welcome back!**

**First, thank you for waiting for this. I'm sorry it took us so long, but since we weren't prepared to write a sequel, we needed to hammer out a story line and an outline.**

**Second, if you liveblog this on tumblr, please tag it as **fic fanning the flames **so I can see! :) (the fanning the flames tag is full of some couple, like wtf?)**

**Third, we will be back to our usual Monday updates, at least until the fic is finished.**

**And, finally, it's come to my attention that the site is taking down certain stories and I wanted to let you guys know that if one of mine is taken down, you can always find it on my livejournal or a new site I've recently learned about called yourfanfiction dot com, where I'll be slowly transferring everything to.**

**That's it! See you guys next week :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This chapter is a little light on the Klaine for reasons, but I hope you still enjoy it. For those who don't know, Labor Day is an American holiday that is basically an excuse not to go to work for most people and falls on the first Monday of September.**

**Kurt **_Blaine _voicemail

The next two weeks past in alternatively slow and fast paces. They still saw each other on the weekdays, but their contact was mostly limited to text messages and the occasional phone call. Due to Kurt's late night schedule the next week, they were unable to spend any time together. They managed one dinner the next week but were otherwise too exhausted to meet up.

Blaine hurried to the airport as soon as he finished up at the school the Friday of Labor Day weekend. He didn't want his friends, Wes and David stuck waiting for him at the airport and neither of them had a key to his apartment since they both lived out of state. He made it a few minutes after their flight landed and he quickly found the pair arguing at the luggage carousel. They embraced, laughing and patting each other's backs overly enthusiastically.

They stopped by to Blaine's flat to drop off their belongings before going to the restaurant where they were meeting Nick, Jeff and Thad for their annual Warbler Weekend. They spotted them at a table in the back and quickly hurried over. Another round of hugs ensued before they all sat down, each talking loudly over each other as the waitress came to get their drink orders. Once she had set their beers down in front of them, Wes stood up.

"Gentlemen, welcome to the tenth annual Warbler Weekend. May our voices never waver in adversity, may we remain dapper and may we always look like the great looking assholes that we are!"

The end of the speech was met with cheers as they clicked their glasses together, the guys laughing as they drink, knowing the toast is only the first of many and will probably be the only one made completely sober. The waitress came back over and took their food order, winking at Blaine as she spun around, a bounce in her step as she went to give the cooks their order. The guys teased him until he started asking them about their lives and families.

Wes and David both lived in Seattle, working at the same law firm. Wes had a new girlfriend, like always, but David's marriage was as strong as ever. Thad's job at the insurance brokerage was going great and he still had the same girlfriend he's had for the past six years. They all teased him about popping the question soon and Thad just shrugged, taking a sip of his beer with a small, secretive smile. Jeff told them about the tour his band was about to go on and Nick caught them up to date on how the club he owned was doing. The waitress and another guy bring their food over then and the conversation was cut short as they sort everything out. The girl started flirting heavily with Blaine, touching his shoulder and batting her eyelashes.

The guys started teasing him, winking and nudging him as her advances became more and more obvious until he was forced to tell her that, while she was very sweet, he was very gay. She rolled her eyes and walked away with a slight huff to attend to another table that had been trying to catch her attention.

"So, Blainers," David said wickedly, ignoring Blaine's glare at the nickname, "tell us about your life now. How are things in _that_ area?"

"Are you asking about my dick, David? How very heterosexual of you," Blaine drawled, pointedly ignoring the question.

"Of course he's not, he's asking about that guy from last year that you wouldn't tell us about," Jeff cut in.

"Yeah, that hot piece of ass you _weren't_ tapping," Nick added, nudging him. Even though Nick lived in New York and was by far closer to him than the other guys, Blaine still never told him about Kurt in any other capacity than as his employer. Now, though, with all of them baring down on him and no longer being Kurt's employee, he opened up.

"Okay, you guys remember the guy I was working for last year, Kurt?" They all nodded. "Well, you know that I quit around New Years but I didn't tell you the reason why because, well, things got a little... _heated_ between us and some boundaries were blurred."

"Tell me more, tell me more," the guys all chorused, ignoring the looks of the other patrons as they parodied the Grease song.

Blaine waited until they finished, casually sipping his beer, before saying, "You guys are assholes. Anyway, he kissed me, I kissed him and things became, well, complicated after awhile. It was basically like he was using me when he was vulnerable and I couldn't take it anymore, so I quit. But then I found that job at the school and when I got my class list, I found out his daughter was going to be my student. And then he shows up on the first day of school, completely clueless to the fact. It wasn't as awkward as I thought it was going to be, though, and we went out to dinner the following weekend." He shifted uncomfortably.

"So let me get this straight," Wes said, his brow furrowed. "This guy sort of used you so you quit your job and now you're once again taking care of his daughter but now the two of you are dating?"

"Well, when you put it like that, it sounds pretty bad," Blaine groused. "There's more to the story, but that's the basic rundown of it." He pouted when he looked up to find the guys staring at him. "Don't judge me."

"So when do we get to meet him?" Thad asked.

"What?"

"We want to meet him," Thad repeated slowly. "If he's that important to you, he should be introduced to the gang."

"Wait, this is _Warblers_ Weekend and Kurt wasn't a Warbler," Blaine pointed out.

"So we make an exception," David said, shrugging.

"Come on, let us meet him," Nick whinged.

"_Fine_," Blaine yelled, exasperated. "I'll text him and see if he wants to come out with us tomorrow night." At their looks, he rolled his eyes. "Guys, he has a kid, he can't just show up at the drop of a hat."

The guys grumbled their assent, eating as Blaine pulled out his phone. _The guys want to meet you_

**What?**

_My friends, the ones that are here from out of town, they want to meet you._

**Oh god, are they going to haze me or something? I don't know if I could handle it**

Blaine let out snort and tilted the phone away from Nick's prying eyes before replying. _Ahahahaha, oh god, Kurt, what do you think we are, frat boys?  
_  
**Well!  
And you're too nice to be a frat boy  
**  
_You say that now but you'll think differently if you come out with us  
_  
**We'll see  
**  
_Is that a yes?  
_  
**Sophie's at her grandparents for the weekend so why not? Yes :)**

Blaine grinned and sent him the address to Nick's club, what time to be there and letting him know to dress casual before tucking his phone away and eating his food. Once they had sorted out their bills and paid, they headed to the closest pub. David ordered a round of tequila shots and raised his in a toast.

"To the best friends a guy could ever ask for!"

Though they mocked him, making overly sappy kissy faces at each other, they touched their shot glasses together, downing the shots. Each progressive toast became louder and cruder until Jeff lifted his shot several rounds later.

"To boobs!" he slurred. This was met with cheers and Blaine booing.

"Hey, that's not fair, I don't even like boobs. Can we change it to, like, nipples or something?"

The guys stared at him for a moment until Jeff yelled, "To nipples!"

The rest of the night began to blur together as the guys began discussing all the different types of nipples they had seen. Before he knew it, Jeff, Thad and Nick were collapsing on his pull out couch while Wes and David stumbled along the hall to his bedroom. David kicked off his shoes and slowly climbed in, whereas Wes flopped down face-first, giggling when Blaine tugged off his shoes.

He turned over when Blaine was done and yelled, "To comfy pillows!" only to get smacked in the face by David's hand. He frowned as Blaine took off his own shoes and crawled in between the two of them. His arms gave out, leaving him to face plant into a pillow. He groaned when Wes started pushing his shoulder and hissing, "Blainers!"

"Wha."

"Blainers, Davey hit me," he whinged.

"Wes."

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

888

"Mmm, Kurt," Blaine sighed, tightening his fingers in the silky tresses, his hips arching as his body rocked.

"Mmm, Ally," another voice, clearly not Kurt, moaned and that's when Blaine realized that the rocking of his body was due to the fact that David was humping his hip and, upon opening his eyes, he noticed the brown hair he was grabbing in his dream was actually black and attached to Wes' head. He groaned, letting go of Wes so that he could push David off of him, ignoring his whimper of protest.

He managed to crawl off the bed, moaning as a shaft of light peeked through the mostly closed curtains. Stopping in the bathroom to splash cold water on his face did wonders on his outlook, though, before he headed to the kitchen. He heard one of the guys mumble something and then Jeff sat up quickly, his head whipping around before realizing how big of a mistake it was and flopping back down with a groan, jostling Nick and Thad awake. Blaine opened one of his cabinets, the thinnest one that's probably supposed to hold spices or something but it was bare save for a bottle of liquor and six shot glasses. It was the first bottle of alcohol they had ever bought and they only used it once a year. He lined up the glasses and poured a measure of liquor in each as the other slowly began filing in.

They each grabbed a glass and held it up. "To hangover cures," Blaine said, his voice gravelly and dry. The others mumbled along with him, wincing at the too loud sound of their glasses clinking together before they drained them. Early afternoon, after they've all showered and dressed, they headed out the door to the same diner they go to every year for their Warbler Weekend to order food to soak up some of the alcohol still lingering in their systems and to help ease their hangovers. Blaine didn't bother to check his phone until they were seated and their order had been taken by the waitress. He stared for a moment at the missed call notification and quickly called his voicemail, letting out a groan at the message.

Wow, Blaine, Animal? Really? I must admit, however, I'm impressed at the rendition, considering how drunk you all sound. I'll see you tonight.

"Wow, I thought I dreamed we did that," Thad said, having pressed close to Blaine so he could hear.

"Did what?" Jeff asked, not looking up from his coffee cup.

"We apparently called Kurt and sang Animal into his voicemail," Blaine informed them. "He was suitably impressed with our drunken singing skills."

"As well he should be," Wes said, attempting to sound pompous but only succeeding in sounding miserable as his head fell forward, falling on the table and making him moaning piteously at the impact. "Why do we keep doing this to ourselves?"

"Tradition," the rest of them chorused, grinning at each other over their sunglasses, which they all refused to remove upon entering because, damn, the sun was bright even in the shelter of the building.

After finishing their food, the boys headed back to Blaine's flat for the next part of their tradition: the X Men Drinking Game. Each guy chose one character and every time that character used their powers, the corresponding guy took a shot and whenever anyone else not chosen used their powers, everyone took a shot. As usual, Blaine chose Wolverine, Wes chose Professor X, David chose Magneto, Thad chose Cyclops, Nick chose Mystic and Jeff chose Storm. It was fun as always, with epic popcorn battles breaking out by the second movie and constant teasing over each guys chosen character that left Jeff pouting.

"You guys suck," he groused, storming into the kitchen.

"Hey, while you're in there pouting, you should order dinner for us!" Wes yelled. His answer was a finger but they all heard him shuffling about for the number to the Thai place they had agreed on.

By the time the third movie was over and their dinner long since eaten, they were well on their way to be drunk again, all of the food they had eaten throughout the day sufficiently keeping them from being fully gone. They headed to Nick's bar afterwards to wait for Kurt to show. Nick kept a VIP section in the back but, for this weekend, it was closed off, a burly bouncer guarding the roped off section. He lifted it for them, nodding to Nick as they passed through.

Inside the alcove was a small bar, as well as several plush chairs and a couple of couches. Everyone draped themselves over the furniture, content to listen to the music and sober up a little before they started drinking more. Blaine's pocket buzzed and he pulled out his phone to find a text from Kurt saying he was on his way. Blaine reminded him to just give his name to the bouncer outside and he would be let in without having to wait and then directed him to the VIP area.

Nick was teaching them how to mix some new drinks when Blaine happened to glance up and spot Kurt making his way through the crowd. He only had a moment to take in Kurt's tight black shirt, the way it clung to his biceps and chest, his skin tight jeans (_oh god, his thighs..._) and his messy hair before the bouncer let him pass.

Blaine snapped out of it, standing to greet Kurt and closing the door to the VIP section, the music quieting immediately. "Hey, Kurt! Glad you could make it."

They embraced warmly and then Blaine led him to the mini bar where the others were gathered. "Guys, this is Kurt. Kurt, this is Wes, David, Nick, Thad and Jeff." He pointed to each guy in turn before pulling Kurt forward a bit more. "We all grew up together."

Kurt shook each of their hands. "Nice to meet you, gentlemen."

Nick snorted, pouring whatever he was mixing into a cup and handing to Thad. "You won't be saying that much longer," he joked.

"Yeah, Nick's a real asshole when he's drunk," Jeff pitched in, smirking over the rim of his glass.

"Keep it up, Sterling, and I'll have you tossed," Nick warned, ruining his serious tone by throwing a cherry at him.

Jeff deflected it, making it hit Thad on the side of his head. "What the hell, Jeff!"

"Nick started it!"

"No, you started it by calling me an asshole!"

"Well, you _are_."

Blaine cleared his throat. "Yeah, forget what I said, I don't know these guys, they must be pod people."

"Oh, yeah?" Kurt laughed.

Wes threw his arm around Blaine's neck. "Oh, Blainers, stop that, you love us."

"Blainers?" Kurt said, a delicate eyebrow rising as he smirked.

Blaine reached up and swatted Wes. "No, not Blainers."

"Blaaaaiiiiiiners," Wes sang.

"What can I get for you?" Nick asked, finally abandoning his argument with Jeff and looking at Kurt.

"Oh, no thank you, I won't be drinking," Kurt said, waving the offering away.

"Aw, why not, Kurtsie?" Wes asked, wrapping his free arm around Kurt.

"Mmm, oh, something bad happened the last time I drank." Kurt's eyes flickered to Blaine's for a brief moment. Wes caught the look but just shrugged.

"Hey, man, don't worry, you're amongst friends!" Thad said. "Drink up, we won't judge you."

"Hell, as much drinking as we do on these weekends, we're the last ones to judge," David pitched in.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Blaine murmured, pushing Wes away so they could have a semi-private conversation.

"It's just..."

"I understand but don't feel like you have to refrain just because of what happened."

Kurt nodded, considering his options. "Can I just get some water for now?" he asked Nick.

"Sure thing."

"Hey, I bet Blaine never told you about the time he tried out for the baseball team," Jeff said, grinning when Blaine groaned.

"No, Jeff, just, _no_."

"Oh, come on, Blainers," Kurt teased, poking his side, "I want to hear stories from your youth."

"No, you really don't."

Kurt smirked. "The more you resist, the more I want to hear them." He motioned to Jeff. "Do go on."

All the guys tried to talk at once, telling Kurt stories that had Blaine red faced. They eventually got Kurt to start drinking mixed drinks with them and then moving on to taking shots. Kurt was literally crying with laughter after a particularly embarrassing story involving Blaine and a vibrator when Blaine decided he had had enough.

"Oh, Kurtsie, I have to tell you about the time the dean caught Blainers in a dress," Wes said, gasping as he tried to catch his breath.

"Or I could tell him about that time in the eighth grade when you popped a boner in the middle of English," Blaine cut in viciously, glaring at his friend.

"Or we could go out and dance for awhile," Wes said, a blush tinting his dark skin.

"That's what I thought," Blaine said. They all went into the main part of the club, the music loud and thumping as they danced together. Girls seemed to appear out of nowhere, grinding against them. The rest of the guys went with it but it left Blaine feeling distinctly uncomfortable.

After what felt like forever on the dance floor, he and Wes made their way back to the VIP area to get something to drink. They leaned against the doorway, watching their friends. Blaine's jaw tensed as he spotted David and Kurt grinding against each other and he fought down his jealousy.

_David is straight._

_And married._

_To a woman._

_They're just dancing._

_Really close._

_Stop staring._

"Wow, you've got it bad," Wes yelled over the music.

His head turned so swiftly, Blaine thought he might have pulled a muscle. "What?"

"For fashion boy over there, if the glare you're shooting David is any indication. Even after everything he put you through, you've still got it bad for him." Wes was looking at him in that particular way he had, the way that made him want to open up. He managed a nonchalant shrug.

"I like him, yeah, I told you guys that." He tried to tear his eyes away from where Kurt and David were practically fucking on the floor (okay, maybe that was a bit too much, but they were dancing really close) and failed. His eyes traced the hard lines accented by Kurt's tight clothing, his fingers itching to run through the thick, messy hair until it was even messier.

"No, but you've got it _bad_, man.

"I don't know what to do." Blaine didn't know how Wes heard him over the pounding bass but there he was, his arm wrapped tight around Blaine's shoulders.

"Why should you have to _do_ anything?" Wes asked. "I mean, he used you, why would you even want to talk to him again?"

Blaine glared, shrugging the arm off. "It's not like that, he-"

"Blaine, the last time he kissed you, he was drunk off his ass and just wanted to make himself feel bettter."

"No, Wes-"

"Are you seriously defending his actions?" Wes quirked an eyebrow.

"Not really, but there's more-"

"I don't think he's worthy of you."

Fire burned in Blaine's eyes as he glared at his friend. "Are you going to let me talk or just keep interrupting?"

"Well, interrupting causes funnier outbursts, but I'll let you talk."

"Kurt didn't do it to hurt me, he was just vulnerable. We've talked about it and he's apologized to me, multiple times. And maybe it's partially my fault for leading him on or something."

"What?"

"Well, I didn't exactly push him away the moment he kissed me and I sort of kissed him on Christmas. I mean, I'm not sure which of us leaned in first and-" He cut himself off at the look on Wes' face and sighed in exasperation. "Look, I'm not saying we're going to get together or last forever or anything, but we're going to work on the issues and see where it takes us." He glared at his friend. "What is your problem, anyway? You seemed real buddy-buddy with him an hour ago."

Wes grinned. "Relax, Blainers, I just wanted to make sure you were serious about him." He wrapped his arm around Blaine's shoulders again, squeezing and leading him back onto the floor. "Let's dance!"

The rest of the night was split between the dance floor and the VIP room, aside from a brief moment when Jeff cornered Kurt in the men's room.

"You better not hurt Blaine," he slurred, his heavily alcoholic breath washing over Kurt's face.

"I fail to see how mine and Blaine's relationship is any of your business," Kurt replied, trying to keep the sneer out of his voice.

Jeff stood up a little straighter and stared him in the eye. "It's all of our business because we're his best friends and he's always had it rough when it came to guys." He blinked slowly. "We just want him to be happy."

Kurt couldn't help but be a little touched by how protective Blaine's friends were. He laid a comforting hand on Jeff's arm. "I swear, I'm going to do everything in my power not to hurt him this time." Jeff smiled a bit sadly and they headed back out into the pulsing rhythm of the club.

After much cajoling, they successfully got Kurt to their level of drunkenness and snickered as they watched him and Blaine gravitate towards each other, sitting close when they were in the VIP room and dancing even closer on the floor. They left some time after three in the morning, stopping to eat at a diner before dropping Kurt off at his building.

"Hey, I'm going to take him up, up to his flat," Blaine said, getting out after Kurt. He ignored the catcalls, following Kurt into the building and onto the lift. The moment the doors closed behind them, he backed Kurt up against the wall and buried his face into his neck. Kurt's fingers came up to tangle in the back of his shirt as he let out a whimper.

"Fuck, you smell so good," he whispered, his lips brushing over the pale column of Kurt's neck with every word. He could feel Kurt's breath pick up from the way their chests were pressed against each other, could feel his hot breath against Blaine's cheek. He forced himself to pull back, pressing their foreheads together. "I really want to kiss you right now."

"Blaine..." Kurt whimpered, tightening his fingers in his shirt.

He let out a shuddering breath and shook his head. "Not like this. I want our real first kiss to be, to be real and _sober_." He felt Kurt chuckle as the doors opened to his floor and he stepped back. He walked Kurt to his door and leaned in, kissing his cheek.

"Goodnight, Kurt."

"Goodnight, Blaine."

The moment he closed the door behind him, Kurt pressed his hand to his chest over his pounding heart, his head swimming with alcohol and something more.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Just a friendly reminder: **Kurt **_Blaine_ :)

**I think Nick poisoned me  
Like, 90% certain**

_What? He wouldn't do that_

**Then why do I feel like I'm dying**

_It's called a hangover, Kurt ;)_

**I hate you**

_You really don't_

**Whatever**

_Take a shot_

**Are you seriously suggesting that I drink MORE**

_The best cure for a hangover is more alcohol_

**That's stupid**

_;)_

Blaine smirked down at his phone as the guys crowded around their shot-glasses and lifted them. "To many more years of doing this," he said. Once again, they all winced as they clinked their glasses together and threw back their shot before beginning their Sunday tradition of video games. They chose the most swear-inducing game from their youth: MarioKart.

The rules were pretty simple, take a shot if you swear or 'die', and it was always fun, even if they could only play four at a time. The other two would egg the others on and try to make the players swear while keeping track of how many shots they had to take. Blaine traded texts with Kurt throughout the day, checking on his hangover and teasing him about the night before.

Eventually, though, the guys had to leave, drunkenly taking cabs to the airport or train station while leaving Blaine with a disaster of an apartment. He shrugged it off, feeling floaty from all of the alcohol consumption. Plus, drunk him liked to hide stuff from sober him and he didn't want to spend two hours looking for his wallet _again_.

Instead, he laid about the living room, drinking water, eating some take away he ordered and talking with Kurt, who had taken his advice. He informed him that Blaine was lucky Sophie was in Georgia with her grandparents for the long weekend (Sophie would, reluctantly, accept food from Jordan's mum) because Kurt had ended up drunk again. Blaine just laughed and told him he would make it up to him by taking him to brunch the next day, then convinced him to watch a movie with him over the phone. They fell asleep to the sound of the others breathing.

888

Blaine didn't know what he expected when he picked up Kurt the next morning, but the disheveled man who opened the door was not it.

"Do you have to knock so loud?" Kurt practically growled.

Blaine grinned. "Aw, what's wrong?"

"For the second time in as many days, I've woken up with a hangover and they're both your fault." He tried to keep his face scowling but the corner of his lips twitched, giving him away.

"Come on, I'll buy you breakfast and you'll once again be happy with me and forget all about your hangover."

They headed to the diner Blaine had gone to with the Warblers the past two days and, after eating a stack of pancakes, Kurt begrudgingly admitted that he did feel better. The talk was light and happy and when Blaine dropped Kurt off after a walk around Central Park, Kurt didn't bother fighting his smile, tilting his face to accept Blaine's kiss on his cheek. He couldn't be sure he wasn't actually floating the rest of the day.

888

September faded into October and the last vestiges of heat clung to the crisp fall air. The Warblers Weekend had brought a new closeness to Blaine and Kurt's relationship and Blaine frequently joined Kurt and Sophie for dinner after Kurt got off work, sometimes enjoying a movie afterwards and talking, always talking. The space on the couch got smaller and smaller as they grew closer.

The last Tuesday of the month was Halloween and every class in the school had a party to celebrate, students and teachers alike dressing in costumes and enjoying treats that the parents brought in. When Kurt came to pick up Sophie, he grinned at Blaine's outfit, having missed him that morning.

"A pirate?" he laughed.

Blaine tugged on the fake hoop attached to his ear, grinning back and shrugging. "It was fast and easy," he said, gesturing to the green scarf wrapped around his head and the eye patch he had pushed up over it. "Besides, you can't mock me if you're not even wearing one."

"I am wearing a costume! I'm a fashion icon," Kurt informed him haughtily, striking a pose and smiling when Blaine just laughed. Sophie put her hand on his cheek, turning so he faced her.

"Dada, can Baine go tick or teating wif us?"

Kurt glanced at him for a moment before telling her, "I don't know, sweetie, why don't you ask him?"

She clambered down from her fathers' arms and walked to Blaine, who knelt in front of her.

"Baine."

"Yes, Miss Sophie?"

"Wiw you go tick or teating wif us?"

"Why, I would love to, Miss Sophie, thank you for inviting me!"

Sophie giggled and went back Kurt, holding her arms up until he picked her up. "I'll text you the details," Kurt said, smiling as they walked away.

"Sounds good to me," Blaine replied, waving goodbye to Sophie.

True to his word, when Blaine checked his phone during his lunch break, Kurt had sent him a text telling him a good time for them to meet at his flat. They traded texts until Blaine's second class showed up and he had to put his phone away. It wasn't until he made it home and was taking off his pirate gear that Blaine realized he didn't have a costume for the night. The pirate thing had just been for class and wasn't even a full costume; definitely not enough for a night of trick or treating. Kurt had told him that he and Sophie were wearing matching costumes, though he refused to say what. Blaine dug around his closet, searching for an outfit that could be thrown together quickly but still make sense.

He smirked when he found the perfect articles of clothing before showering and styling his hair the best he could with so little time. He changed into his costume and looked at the full effect in mirror.

His unruly curls had been carefully styled into Elvis' signature pompadour with a few stray hairs falling to his forehead. His black and white striped shirt was a little tight, but the black jean jacket with white stitching fit perfectly. The matching jeans were just on this side of tight and he let out a grunt as he leaned over to roll up the ankles slightly. He frowned at the white socks, hoping they would stay up, and looked over his shiny black shoes to make sure there were no scuff marks. Satisfied with his appearance, he grabbed his wallet, keys, and phone before heading over to Kurt's flat.

He knocked on the door and was surprised to see Kurt dressed in a light green tunic-type thing, the front open and dipping halfway down his chest, revealing the pale skin underneath, and- "Are those tights?" Blaine asked, his voice a little strangled at the sight of those long legs covered in dark green stretchy material.

"Yeah," Kurt said, smirking. "I'm Peter Pan." He stepped aside, letting Blaine enter. Sophie ran to him, colliding with his legs.

"BAINE!"

Blaine laughed, picking her up. "Hi Miss Sophie! Are you ready to go trick or treating?"

She nodded vigorously before squirming from his grip. "I pitty, Baine!" she said, pointing to her outfit. She was dressed as Tinkerbell, her blonde hair pulled back into a bun and wearing the trademark Tinkerbell dress with flesh coloured sleeves and tights. She lifted her feet so that that he could see the puff balls on top of her slippers.

"You look very lovely," Blaine told her, oohing and aahing over everything.

"What are you?" she asked, tugging at his jacket.

"I'm Elvis." He stood, thrust forward so that he was on his toes, his knees bent and arms thrown out before settling back and curling his lips. "Thank you, thank you vureh much."

Sophie giggled as Kurt rolled his eyes, not bothering suppress his smile as he headed down the hall to his bedroom. Blaine grinned and began singing, "You ain't nothin' but a hound dog, cryin' all tha time."

Sophie laughed, wiggling her butt as she sang, "You aint nuffin' buda hoooound dog!"

Kurt came back into the living room, adjusting the brown belt around his waist before tugging on a pair of brown ankle boots and laughing as Sophie kept singing. He grabbed a green felt hat with a red feather and Sophie's glittery faerie wings before biting his lip.

"Would you mind carrying my keys and phone?" he asked Blaine, gesturing to his outfit. "There's not really any place to keep them in this outfit."

"Oh, sure, no problem." He picked up Sophie. "Are we ready?"

"Yes!" Sophie yelled, wiggling happily.

"Well let's go!" Kurt led the way, locking the door before handing his keys and phone to Blaine, who carefully tucked them into his pockets.

They wandered to various spots Kurt had found online that were good for trick or treating, keeping a careful eye on Sophie as she gathered sweets and treats. They told stories about past trick or treating shenanigans, their hands swinging slightly between them as they walked, occasionally brushing against each other. Every time, Kurt wanted to reach out and grab Blaine's, to lace their fingers together, feel the warmth of his hand in the slight chill of the air as the sun went down, but he didn't. After messing up everything last time, he wanted to make sure Blaine was comfortable before taking a step forward, even so small a one as holding hands.

As they made their way to TriBeCa, he caught Blaine looking at him in his peripheral vision. He turned his head, locking eyes and smiling as Sophie gripped his hand tighter, so excited to be out amongst all the brightly dressed people. Blaine smiled back and bumped their hands together lightly before taking Kurt's in his and lacing their fingers together, squeezing in a reassuring manner. Kurt squeezed back, his heart swelling and a smile blossoming across his face, one that didn't leave for quite some time.

888

Autumn finally beat out the heat, ushering November in with freezing rains and wind. Blaine used it as an excuse to cuddle closer to Kurt on movie nights, Sophie tucked between them under the blanket they shared, their finger twined together along the back of the sofa over her head. Since that avenue of intimacy had been opened, they had held hands whenever the opportunity presented itself, practically giddy with excitement.

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving found them in the now-familiar position. Sophie was already in bed, resting up for their flight to Ohio the morning. _Some Like It Hot_ played softly in the background, casting a silvery light in the otherwise dark room. Blaine watched it play over Kurt's face, so close to his own at that moment. He and Sophie were leaving the next day so that they could spend time with Kurt's family while Sophie was on break from school and they wouldn't be returning until sometime on Saturday. Blaine was headed upstate to spend the holiday with his own family, though he would be returning Friday instead.

He listened to Kurt talk, words occasionally punctuated by yawns and he couldn't help but smile.

Kurt smiled back, slow and lazy. "What?"

Blaine just shook his head, closing the small distance between them and pressing a sweet, chaste kiss to his lips. Kurt gasped as his lips tingled with the familiar sparks that came with kissing Blaine as his hand came up to cup his cheek, feeling the stubble scratching his palm. Blaine didn't take advantage of his gasp, content to move his slightly chapped lips against Kurt's smooth ones, one of his hands lightly holding onto Kurt's arm. Blaine pulled away with a soft sigh, letting out a hum of laughter when Kurt attempted to follow.

"Not that I'm complaining," Kurt murmured, licking his lips slowly, "but what was that for?"

Blaine chuckled. "I told you I wanted it to be perfect, remember? Watching you just talking about your day, the light from the movie across the room, I just realized that here and now... It's perfect. And I know we've had the, uh, issues in the past and that we're working through them, even now, but I just- I wanted to take the next small step with you."

Kurt blinked against the prickle of tears in his eyes. "You're so amazing, Blaine, and I'm glad I didn't lose you." He leaned in, brushing their lips together before sitting back. "Thank you for giving me another chance."

Blaine smiled at him, one hand coming up to tuck an errant strand behind Kurt's ear. "I'm going to miss you."

The mood was a mixture of somber and elation, trading gentle kisses and sad goodbyes. It was only for four days but in light of the newest step of their relationship, it seemed like four days too long.

Blaine had to leave not long after, as loathe as he was to do so. Kurt had his early morning flight and he had his own plans to leave early for his drive upstate. Kurt kissed him one last time after he walked him to the door, both men promising to text when they arrived at their destinations.

The adrenaline rush that had come when he kissed Kurt had worn off by the time he made it home and he barely had time to change into his pajamas before he was collapsing into his bed. The harsh beeping of his alarm clock woke him hours later and he groaned as he stood and made his way to the shower. He dressed comfortably afterwards, preparing for the drive to his parents. Grabbing his overnight bag, he took the lift to the garage and went to his car, used only for trips to visit family since it was more convenient to take a cab around the city than to drive. He set up his iPod to his favourite driving playlist and set out. It was easy going once he made it out of the city.

His thoughts wandered to Kurt, as they were wont to do lately whenever he had downtime. It got him through the long trip and before he knew it, he was pulling into his parents' driveway behind a familiar silver car with Texas plates. He sat there for a few moments, shooting off a quick text to Kurt telling him he had arrived while simultaneously replying to his earlier text by saying he was glad they had landed safely in Ohio. He had just pressed send when his door was torn open and he was pulled out and into his brothers' arms.

"BLAINEY!"

"Coop, I told you not to call me that," Blaine whined, rolling his eyes and swatting Cooper's hand as he ruffled Blaine's hair.

"All right, Squirt." Cooper winked, ignoring Blaine's scowl as he began pulling him towards the house.

"Coop, I need to get my bags," Blaine told him, trying to duck from under Cooper's arm but it just tightened around his neck.

"Nope, you can get them later; Ethan is dying to see you."

Blaine allowed himself to be led inside, hugging his parents and Alice, his sister in law, before doing a complicated handshake with Ethan. He was pleased to find his nephew hadn't inherited his shortness, standing chest high to him. They moved into the living room to sit in talk, his father making them all cocktails as they caught up. It was late when Blaine finally went to get his bag from the car and found his phone, abandoned on his seat.

He had a couple of texts from Kurt and one from Nick. He answered Nick's as he entered the house, saying his goodnights to everyone before retiring to his room. He took a quick shower, not bothering to put any product in his hair before flopping on his bed and calling Kurt.

"Hey, you," Kurt said a bit breathlessly when he picked up. Blaine couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, how are you doing? Why are you so breathless?"

Kurt laughed. "Oh, I had just finished putting Sophie to bed when I heard my phone go off. Kind of ran to get it."

"Oh, were you that excited to talk to me?" Blaine chuckled.

"Of course not," Kurt replied in a faux haughty voice, "I thought you were the queen returning my call." At Blaine's snort, he continued, "I've been waiting for her to, we have some very serious issues to discuss, like the colour of the linens at the next banquet and new hat styles and-"

"Kurt..." Blaine said, cutting him off with a laugh.

"All right, all right," he conceded.

"Tell me about your trip?"

Blaine listened as Kurt talked about the plane ride and the horrible traffic at the airport and Sophie's excitement over seeing her grandparents again. When he finally ran out of things to say, he asked about Blaine's trip, his words punctuated by yawns. Blaine told him about his own uneventful drive and getting to see his brothers' family for the first time in almost a year. They talked until they fell asleep, phones attached to their ears, the near silent breath of the other one a small comfort over the many miles.

The next day was Thanksgiving and, other than a short conversation when they woke up and realized what had happened, they weren't able to talk or even text. Kurt was busy helping Carole in the kitchen while Sophie curled up on the couch with her grandfather and uncle and watch football. Blaine's family had a tradition of playing football on Thanksgiving. Every year, rain or snow, the guys and whichever girls that wanted to play would gather outside, separating into teams and having an all out battle. There was no shortage of mud, skinned knees, or cut forearms.

After scrubbing up and eating dinner, everyone was too tired to do more than sit around the living room, talking and watching whatever was on the TV at the time. Kurt called Blaine after putting Sophie to bed, both giving a brief overview of their day before hanging up with the promise to talk more the next day.

Friday morning found Kurt and Sophie eating breakfast with Mercedes and Sam, who were in from Chicago for the holiday. He teased them about making him honorary uncle, his hand resting on Mercedes protruding belly, waiting to feel the strong kicks. They filled him in on the progress of the pregnancy and the new album Mercedes wanted to cut after the baby was born. They were still holding out on learning the sex until after but Mercedes joked that Sam would break before she did. Kurt shook his head and bet that she would when the nesting set in, remembering how crazy Jordan went towards the end of her pregnancy.

The rest of the day was spent on the couch, tucked between his dad and Aunt Delia. They were in the middle of the first movie when Kurt's phone buzzed with a text from Blaine, telling him he had made it home safely. Kurt smiled as he typed out a reply when Delia leaned over, catching sight of the name.

"Blaine? I didn't know the two of you were talking again," Delia said, quirking an eyebrow.

"He's Sophie's teacher, I told you that."

"Really, I don't remember that."

"Better get your hearing checked, it gets worse with age," Burt told her with a guffaw. She glared over Kurt's head before nudging him with her shoulder.

"So what's going on, then?"

Kurt checked his messages, replying to Blaine again before telling her, "We're just friends."

"Oh, yeah? Because that look on your face tells a completely different story," Delia replied, winking saucily at him.

He couldn't help the redness that crept up his neck to his face. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh-ho-ho, I think you do!" she teased, poking his ribs lightly and laughing as he swatted her hand away before her face grew serious. "Are you sure about this, Kurt? I don't want you getting your heart broken again."

"In case you forgot, Aunt Delia, I did most of the heartbreaking myself," Kurt replied drily. He had not spared any details when telling his family about Blaine leaving.

"That doesn't mean you weren't hurt."

"Maybe I deserved it, I don't know." He shrugged a little helplessly.

"Hey, none of that," Burt interrupted. "I'm not saying what you did was right, but you didn't deserve to get your heart broken any more than Blaine did."

"I guess."

"Don't guess, know," Delia told him. "So what's going on then? And don't lie, I know that look on your face and it clearly says, 'more than friends.'"

"We're taking things slow, trying to rebuild our friendship and see where it takes us," Kurt said, looking both of them in the eye. Carole walked in, handing Delia a glass of water before settling in Burt's big armchair with a mug of coffee.

"You two quit bugging him. Kurt's a big boy, he can handle it without you two busybodies nosing into his business," she chastised them. Burt and Delia grumbled as Kurt mouthed 'thank you' to her. As much as he wanted to tell them about the strides he and Blaine had taken in their relationship, he found he was too worried.

What if Blaine regretted kissing him? What if he changed his mind after and decided he didn't want to be with Kurt and he was just waiting to let him down in person? What if kissing Kurt had brought back bad memories?

_What if..._

_What if..._

_What if..._

The words circled around his head like vultures, picking at his brain until all that was left was doubt. He knew he was being stupid and that he should talk to someone, just to get the words out and in the air where they could be cleared but he kept holding them in.

At night, when he and Blaine talked on the phone, he allowed the other man's voice to act as a balm on his stupidly over analytical brain, reassuring him that Blaine did want him and wasn't just waiting to break it off. He allowed himself to bask in the tender words and easy going attitude.

However, the moment they hung up, the doubt crept back in, keeping him edgy and sleep as distant as it had been the night before. His exhaustion finally pulled him under some time after two and sleep clung to his eyes when Sophie woke up at seven, wanting her milk. He made a full spread as the others began moving about the house, pancakes, bacon, eggs, cut up fruit, anything he could find and add to the mountain of food. They settled in to eat, talking in between bites about last minute things that needed to be done before the out-of-state travelers left.

After lunch, Burt and Carole drove everyone to the airport and they spent several moments hugging and promising to text and call and make plans for Christmas before the New York group separated from the rest of them, boarding the plane when they were called. The moment they landed and disembarked, Kurt shot off a text to Carole and one to Blaine telling them they had made it safely. He wasn't able to check their replies until he and Sophie where in the taxi and when he did, his heart thumped in his chest as he read Blaine's message asking if he could come over later. He bit his lip, considering for a moment as all of the 'what if' thoughts of the past four days swirled around him.

He told Blaine that they were tired, hoping to put off what he felt was the inevitable, but Blaine persisted, bribing him with a promise of Thai food from his favorite place. He finally relented, asking Blaine to wait until six to come over so he would have enough time to wash the smell of Ohio and airports off of them. His stomach knotted when there was a knock on the door later that evening, one that loosened the moment Blaine walked in, leaned over, and kissed him, a bag of food in one hand and a bag of movies in the other. His doubts washed away like the tide, the vultures fleeing as something bigger and infinitely better came along.

**A/N: For those who don't know who Elvis is, put down whatever crappy music you're listening to and go buy some Elvis Presley albums. The costume I'm referring to as well as the pose Blaine did is linked in my profile, for those interested. I was inspired by that gifset comparing Darren to Elvis (the similarities are shocking)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Major props to my brother for driving the last bit of our trip home on Tuesday so I could write the last couple of pages, lol.**

After Thanksgiving, things became easier, the burden of watching their steps around each other temporarily dissipating as they took the time to rediscover the previously forbidden intimacy. December brought colder weather and many excuse to cuddle, which often turned into making out. They spent their time slowly exploring every detail of the others mouth and body, though they were careful to keep their hands north of the equator, too excited by the new step in the right direction to do anything that might put a halt in their activities.

Too soon, the madness of the holidays set in and they became caught up in it. The school was putting on a Christmas pageant that Blaine had to prepare for and the magazine was as busy as ever, business booming as it continued to grow. More often than not, they were unable to have dinner together or watch a movie. When it came time for the pageant, Kurt, Jen, and Finn came, packing cameras and camcorders so that they could send copies to the grandparents. Afterward, when the crowds thinned and he was no longer needed, Blaine took them on a mini tour of the school, ending up in his classroom. Sophie ran to the table she normally sat with, tugging her father and Blaine along with her as she showed Kurt her favorite spots.

Neither was aware at the time of Jen snapping the camera as they sat next to each other on the floor Sophie curled on Kurt lap as he read from a book she had brought over. Later, when Jen showed it to him, he was struck with sudden inspiration as to what to give Kurt for Christmas. He had been agonizing over it for a while and now? Now he knew.

888

The weekend before Christmas weekend, Jen volunteered to watch Sophie so that they could have a date night. After a nice dinner, they stepped into the cold night air.

"So..."

"So..." Blaine replied, smiling.

Kurt rolled his eyes, smacking Blaine's arm lightly before hooking his own through it. "So what do you want to do now?"

"Would you like to come back to my place for a nightcap?"

Kurt snorted. "'Nightcap'? That's what you're going with?"

"Hey, it's a real thing!"

"You're cheesy," Kurt murmured, leaning over to kiss Blaine's cheek. "Adorable, but cheesy."

Blaine smirked. "Delicious cheese."

Kurt rolled his eyes and allowed Blaine to lead the way to his apartment. Neither man minded the cold as it let them snuggle close to the other, though, thankfully, the flat wasn't too far away. Once they let themselves in, Blaine pulled Kurt over to his liqueur cabinet.

"So what would you like?"

Kurt glanced over the selection. "Would you mind if we just had some hot chocolate?"

"I wouldn't mind at all." They turned to the kitchen and Blaine made their drinks while Kurt talked to him. Afterwards, they settled on the couch to talk. It wasn't long before Kurt cleared his throat nervously.

"What are your plans for Christmas?"

Blaine shrugged. "Take away and old movies probably, why?"

"Well, I was just thinking, I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to, it's totally okay if you say no, I mean, I won't get mad or anything-"

"Kurt. Kurt. Kurt, take a deep breath," Blaine told him, grinning as Kurt did as he was told. "Okay, try again."

"I wanted to know if you wanted to come with us to Delia's house for Christmas," he said in a rush.

Blaine blinked in surprise. "Oh."

"I won't be upset if you don't wa-"

"No, Kurt, I was just thinking." He shifted a bit. "Are you sure your family- Do they know? About us?"

"No, and not because I'm ashamed or anything."

"Well, why didn't you then?" Blaine asked, frowning.

Kurt shrugged, looking down at his hot chocolate. "I don't know. I guess I'm just worried."

A hand came in his view, stopping his fingers from tracing the lip of his cup. "Worried about what?"

"About, about us, if we'll last. I didn't want to hear lectures if things didn't work out and then Thanksgiving happened and-" Kurt sighed. "I just want to wait, before I tell them."

"Kurt, look at me." Kurt looked up to find Blaine smiling gently. "Kurt, we said we were taking this slow and if you're not ready to go public with this, I'm perfectly okay with that. I just want you to be comfortable. Okay?"

Kurt leaned forward, kissing him softly and then pulling back, resting their foreheads together. "Thank you for understanding. And I'm not uncomfortable with us, you know?"

"Sh, I know, I know," Blaine whispered. "That's not what this is about, okay? This, this is about us and if we want to keep this just between us until our we- until years in the future, then that's that and screw what anyone else thinks."

Kurt laughed lightly, leaning in to kiss Blaine. "Thank you."

"And if you really want me to, I'll come with you to North Carolina," Blaine mumbled against Kurt's lips.

"Mmm, I really," kiss, "really," kiss, "want you to."

888

The following Wednesday found them once again at the airport, bound for North Carolina and Delia's house. It hadn't been easy to secure a last minute ticket for Blaine but they lucked out when a couple never showed and Blaine had been allowed on. The trip to the airport had been even worse than the first time when they went for the Fourth of July and the nervousness permeating the air was multiplied tenfold. Though he and Finn had remained friends and still got together whenever the Buckeyes played, Blaine was understandably worried about Burt's reaction, despite Kurt's constant reassurance that his father didn't hate him.

Still, he tensed whenever they met up with them at the airport. Carole, predictably, pulled him into a tight hug and lamented about how much she missed him and demanded that he not lose contact with her again. But Burt…

Burt stared at him for a long moment, his face unreadable. Blaine tried not to fidget under his gaze, holding his breath. If Burt was angry with him-

"How about those Buckeyes this season?" Burt asked him gruffly and just like that, the tension in his shoulders dissipated as he shook his head, engaging in a lively conversation with both him and Finn. Though he hadn't grown up in Ohio, Blaine's mother had come from there and taught him to love the team, much to his fathers' annoyance. They made their way through the airport and then to a different hotel from last time, which meant that Blaine and Kurt wouldn't have to share a bed.

Not that it stopped them.

The next morning, they were up early and driving to Delia's house after a quick stop for breakfast and a hardy lunch was set out for them by the time they arrived. Blaine once again stood nervously off to the side, his arms wrapped protectively around his chest as everyone else hugged in the cold driveway outside of Delia's house. It wasn't until she cupped his cheeks in her icy hands, tilting his face from side to side, that his stance loosened slightly.

"You're too thin," she remarked. "Come on, before the barbeque gets cold."

After lunch, they took their bags to their rooms, the same ones from the year before, and unpacked. The time between that and dinner was spent catching up, especially with Blaine, since they hadn't seen him in more than a year. Afterwards, they crashed, the out of state travelers exhausted from their trips. The next morning, Kurt and Sophie were the second ones down, right after Delia and Blaine, who had already started breakfast.

"Good morning," Kurt said just as Sophie dashed in front of him, yelling for Blaine, who turned around, scooped her up and twirled her around in the air as she giggled. Kurt smiled softly at him, his eyes trailing from Sophie down the strong hands gripping her tightly, to his biceps bulging under the thin fabric of his shirt from the strain of holding her up. He swallowed, tearing his eyes away to find Blaine smirking at him as he propped Sophie on his hip. Kurt rolled his eyes, grabbing glasses for the adults and a plastic cup for Sophie and filling all four with milk.

After breakfast, Kurt, Blaine, and Sophie headed out. Since Blaine wasn't prepared to give gifts to anyone besides Kurt and Sophie, he needed to pick some up for the rest of Kurt's family.

"Hey, can we stop by the music shop, too?" he asked, wincing when Sophie, set up on his shoulders, tugged at his curls.

"Oh, yeah, sure." Kurt snaked his arm around Blaine's back and tucked one of his hands in Blaine's pocket, earning him a smile from the other man. Getting gifts didn't take long and soon they were at the book shop, browsing through their record selection.

Blaine dug around until he found another Christmas record, laughing when Kurt just rolled his eyes. He picked out a few other records before Sophie started yawning and they headed back to Delia's house so she could lie down. As the day dwindled down, Delia insisted they play Pictionary, telling Blaine it was tradition.

They broke into teams: Blaine and Burt, Finn and Delia, and Kurt, Jen, and Carole, since there was an odd number. It turned out that Blaine and Burt conquered them all, which was shocking because both of them were appallingly bad artists. After everything was cleaned up for the night, Burt clasped him on the shoulder.

"Where have you been all my life, kid? Delia's been whooping my behind for years!"

Blaine blushed. "Uh, in a cupboard?" Kurt let out a snort and explained the Harry Potter reference to everyone else as they headed upstairs to bed.

The next day was Friday and they spent a better part of the day decorating the house for the holiday. When Blaine asked why Delia didn't do it before they got there, he was informed that she hated decorating and instead coerced the family into doing it every year. After a delicious dinner of homemade chili, courtesy of Blaine, Carole got Kurt and Finn to sing _Jingle Bells_, "for old times sake," which turned into Kurt and Blaine singing _Let It Snow _and ended with all of them around the piano, singing whatever song Blaine played.

Saturday had Kurt, Carole, and Delia up early baking cookies for the homeless shelter in North Carolina that they volunteered at when they spent Christmas at Delia's. Once they were cooled off, everyone helped decorate them, Finn assisting Sophie and succeeding in making a big mess. After they finished and ate a quick supper, they loaded into the rental and Delia's car and went to the shelter. Kurt enjoyed watching Blaine volunteer, watching as he poured all of his enthusiasm and joy into helping those less fortunate and his smile never leaving his face. His heart pounded in his chest and it felt like a million butterflies were playing games in his stomach.

Oh, god, this was love, wasn't it?

He knew he cared for Blaine, knew he liked him and wanted him, but this was something totally different, bigger and softer and _more_.

Blaine looked up then and smiled softly at him, making the butterflies move faster before settling into a warm glow in his chest. He smiled back until someone cleared their throat politely and he was forced to pay attention to the line that had formed in front of him. Once the second wave of volunteers came in to relieve them, they went back to Delia's for a Christmas movie marathon. Sophie only lasted halfway through _How The Grinch Stole Christmas_ before she fell asleep. Burt carried her to her room when he and Carole went to bed after the movie ended. Delia was next, after _A Christmas Carol_ ended and then Jen and Finn, who started yawning halfway through _It's A Wonderful Life_.

And then it was just Blaine and Kurt, curled up together as they watched _Jingle All The Way_. Blaine waited until he was sure everyone was asleep to turn to look at Kurt, capturing his lips in a soft kiss. He felt a small puff of breath against his lips as Kurt chuckled and pressed closer, his hand coming up to cup Kurt's neck.

"I've missed you so much," he murmured, peppering kisses around Kurt's mouth before kissing him again. "I've hated not being able to kiss you."

Kurt hummed, one hand falling to Blaine's waist. "Me, too; it's been horrible." Blaine shifted closer as their lips moved against each other slickly. Kurt worked his hand under Blaine's shirt, rubbing the smooth skin of his lower back and causing him to gasp and arch forward. Kurt moaned as Blaine's half hard cock bumped his thigh.

Blaine pulled back, panting. "Shit, shit, I'm sorry."

"Sh, no, it's fine," Kurt said, tugging at Blaine until he was straddling Kurt. He ducked down, keeping himself balanced with a hand on either side of Kurt's head against the couch, and swept his tongue along Kurt's bottom lip. He moved away, not allowing Kurt to kiss him as he trailed down his jaw, feeling the rough stubble catch his lips before sucking lightly on the hinge. Kurt was panting softly, huffs of breath hot on Blaine's cheek as he moved further down, nipping at the skin of his throat. His hands clenched, nails scrapping against Blaine's back and making him buck down and causing both men to gasp as their cocks bumped.

"I want to go to your room," Blaine murmured, pulling back to look at him.

Kurt searched his eyes for any hint of hesitation. "Okay," he breathed.

They cleaned up the slight mess in the living room and turned off the telly before linking hands and quietly making their way upstairs. Blaine didn't even pause, opening the door and pulling Kurt in behind him. He let go of his hand and crawled into the bed, patting the spot next to him.

"Care to join me?"

Kurt laughed softly before walking to the end of the bed and crawling up it to Blaine, who was grinning as Kurt hovered over him. He twined his fingers through the fine hairs at the nape of Kurt's neck and tugged him forward with a playful, "Com'ere."

Kurt giggled against his lips as he shifted closer, bracketing Blaine's thighs between his knees but not actually sitting on him. He kissed him softly for a moment before moving to kiss the tip of Blaine's nose, dragging his lips lightly as he kissed each eyelid, then his cheeks, down to his earlobe, which he sucked into his mouth, tugging gently with his teeth. Blaine's breathing had turned slightly erratic, his fingers tight in Kurt's hair as he tilted his head to give him better access. Kurt took his time, teasing Blaine until he was writhing beneath him.

Frustrated, Blaine grabbed Kurt's thighs and pulled him down, making them both hiss at the friction when their cocks rubbed together. Blaine's hands trailed up the backs of his thighs before settling on his waist as Kurt began rocking his hips down.

"You feel so good," Blaine whispered, stretching up to kiss Kurt, thrusting his tongue alongside Kurt's as he rolled his hips. Kurt moaned, sucking on Blaine's tongue as he fist his shirt. "Fuck, _Kurt_."

Kurt pulled back, resting their foreheads together as he worked his hips faster. "Fuck, Blaine, I can't- I'm not going to last- Fuck," he panted.

"Been too long," Blaine groaned in agreement, holding him steady as their pace became uneven, their cocks sliding together and feeling so good even through the material of their pants that Blaine wasn't sure where he began and Kurt ended and fuck if he didn't care. He moved Kurt's hips fast, neither man bothering to try to keep kissing, their eyes locked as they speed towards their climaxes. Blaine slid his hands down, grabbing two handfuls of Kurt's plump ass and squeezing and then Kurt was shuddering, his mouth slack as his eyes slammed shut and he came, a small whine emitting from the back of his throat.

Blaine watched in awe as Kurt came undone, the shallow breaths, the red flush that overtook his face and went down his neck. He wanted to see how far down that flush went, wanted to explore every inch of the glorious pale skin, trace a path down it with tongue, teeth, lips, fingers. He thrust twice more against Kurt and let go, coming with a muffled groan against his neck.

They lay there for several minutes as their heartbeats slowed and their breathing evened out. Kurt grimaced at the sticky feel of come in his boxer briefs and heard Blaine chuckled underneath him.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing," Blaine said, turning so their faces were closer. "Hi."

"Hi. That was amazing."

"Mmm, I definitely want a repeat performance." He shifted uncomfortably and wrinkled his nose when Kurt laughed. "Shush, you. Come on." He smacked Kurt's ass lightly when he rolled off of him. Blaine leaned in to kiss the corner of his mouth. "I better get back to my room," he murmured.

"Wait." Kurt reached out, grasping his arm as he moved to climb off the bed. Blaine looked at him questioningly. "Would- Do you- Will you sleep in here with me tonight?" He looked so nervous that Blaine couldn't even tease him about it.

"Of course." He kissed him again and climbed off the bed. "I'm going to go to my room and clean up and change and then we can go to sleep, that sound okay?"

Kurt yawned and nodded, sitting up. "That sounds perfect."

"I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

Blaine flashed him a smile before he quietly closed the door behind him and tiptoed to his room, anxious to get his come-filled boxer briefs off and get back to Kurt. He couldn't believe what they just did. He had thought about them moving to the next level, considered it half a dozen times when they were making out but now.

He grinned to himself as he tossed his dirty clothes in the corner and grabbed his pyjama pants before walking to the bathroom. Cleaning his crotch, he thought about how much closer they were now and how much more he wanted. Not right away, of course, but now that the option was there... He pulled up his pants, tossed the wash cloth in the towel hamper and tiptoed back to Kurt's room. He was lying on his bed under the covers, his eyes half closed as he waited for Blaine.

Blaine couldn't help the warmth that spread through his chest at the sight. His eyes roved over the outline of Kurt's body before he flipped off the light switch and walked over to the bed, using the moonlight streaming through the window to guide his way. _I'm falling hard for this man_, he thought as he curled up next to Kurt. He felt for Kurt's arm and brought his hand up so he could kiss the palm before twining their fingers together on his chest. He felt Kurt snuggle up against him, the fabric of his shirt soft against Blaine's bare back, and press a kiss to his neck.

"Goodnight, Blaine."

"Goodnight, Kurt."

_Falling or already hit the ground_, Blaine thought as he drifted off to sleep.

888

Kurt woke up to Blaine snuggling up against him, his nose buried in the back of Kurt's head. _We must have turned over_, he mused, burrowing back into Blaine's warmth. His mind flashed to the night before and he grinned. It had been amazing and-

"Mmm," Blaine moaned, shifting until his morning wood was pressed against the curve of Kurt's ass. "Mmm, Kurt."

Kurt twisted around, his morning greeting cut off by a snort when he realized that Blaine was still asleep.

"Mmm, baby, you feel so-" Blaine jolted awake when Kurt arched back. He scooted back, his face red. "Oh, fuck, Kurt, I'm so sorry I-"

"Sh, Blaine, it's okay," Kurt whispered, putting a finger to his lips.

Blaine took a moment to look around them and let out a sigh of relief when he remembered the night before. He flopped back down and smiled shyly at Kurt. "Good morning."

"Good morning. I would kiss you but-"

"-morning breath," they said at the same time. Kurt chuckled as he stretched lazily. "I should get up, Sophie will be awake soon."

"You just relax, I'll get her after I put on a shirt," Blaine told him, leaning over to kiss him, their mouths firmly closed. "You come down whenever you're ready."

"Are yo-"

"Yes, I'm sure, go back to sleep." After one more kiss, Blaine crawled off the bed and left, giving Kurt a prime view of his muscular back and the low riding pyjamas that seemed to be held up by the glorious swell of Blaine's ass. He bit his lip, waiting until the door closed with a near silent click before turning over and squealing into his pillow like an adolescent girl.

Blaine went to his room, pausing outside of Sophie's door and hearing the telltale signs of her waking up. He quickly grabbed a long sleeve shirt from his borrowed dresser and opened the door to find Sophie standing in the hallway, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She spotted him and immediately walked over, holding her hands up.

Blaine picked her up and murmured, "Good morning, Miss Sophie. Did you have a good night?" He felt her nod against his shoulder as she yawned. "Come on, let's go get breakfast started."

"Oh-tay," she sighed.

To his surprise, Delia was already awake and pulling out a bag of chocolate chips to put in the pancake batter she was mixing. She greeted them enthusiastically (perhaps more so than necessary, Blaine thought) and set Blaine to work on cooking the bacon. They were nearly done when Kurt came down, yawning and grinning as he stooped down to pick up Sophie.

"Good morning, sweetie," he cooed, slobbering obnoxious kisses all over her cheeks and laughing when she squealed. He looked up to see Delia smirking at him knowingly and when he glanced at Blaine questioningly, the other man just shrugged. "So, uh, what can I do to help?"

After being reassured that he wasn't needed, he sat at the table with Sophie and watched as she coloured. The rest of the family followed not long after and they all sat down to eat before heading to the living room to open presents. Much like the year before, everyone arranged themselves around the living room, Kurt and Blaine sitting next to each other in front of the couch with Sophie in between them. Burt and Carole began sorting through the presents and handing them to the corresponding person.

Everyone unwrapped their gifts, exclaiming over this and that and watching with glee as the others opened their gifts. Blaine helped Sophie give her present to her dad, one they had made in class and kept secret. It was a picture frame wreath ornament made from a small paper plate wrapped in green yarn and covered in glitter. Inside was a picture of Sophie, taken by Blaine one day during class, her hair in puffy pigtails as she cheesed at the camera. The other students had done the same but Blaine had kept Sophie's, promising her they could surprise Dada with it later.

Kurt blinked back tears; Sophie looked so much like her mother's baby pictures sometimes. "Thank you, baby," he whispered, gathering her in his arms as she giggled.

"Welcome, Dada." She gave him a kiss and went back to play with her toys. Kurt smiled tearfully at Blaine and mouthed 'Thank you.'

"Now, for your present," Kurt said, handing Blaine a heavy wrapped square.

He tore it open to find a first edition copy of _Peter Pan _and his jaw dropped. "Kurt, this- I- what-" He shook his head disbelievingly.

"I know you've been looking for it and I found it buried under a bunch of old copies of crappy teen vampire books in a second hand shop."

"Kurt, this is amazing, just- Thank you, so much." He leaned forward, pulling Kurt into a tight hug. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, honey," Kurt murmured back, his voice quiet so the other wouldn't hear.

Blaine pulled back and let out a bark of a laugh. "I don't want to give you yours now; it seems so silly in comparison now."

"Oh, come on, that's not fair," Kurt pouted. "Give it to me! Please?" Blaine rolled his eyes but dutifully handed over the small package. Inside was a picture frame made of Popsicle sticks, artfully decorated with his, Sophie's, and Blaine's names in delicate script at the bottom. In the frame was the picture Jen had snapped of them the night of Sophie Christmas Pageant.

"I know it's not much, but when Jen showed me the picture, I thought it would be cute and I was kind of inspired by the ornaments the kids did but it's stupid and-"

Kurt listened to Blaine babble for a moment before reaching out and laying his hand on his arm. "I love it, Blaine, thank you so much."

Blaine's mouth snapped shut and his dark skin flushed slightly. "You're welcome."

Kurt's family watched the exchange silently but with much interest.

888

Two days later, they were packing up to go back home. Kurt had caught Delia looking at him like she knew something over the past couple of days and finally he asked her about it as they were making dinner the night before they were to leave.

"I saw him."

"What?"

Delia leveled her gaze at him. "I saw Blaine sneaking out of your room Christmas morning." Kurt was pretty sure his entire body turned red as he racked his brain for an excuse. "Oh, don't bother, kid, I'm not that dumb. How long have you two been together?"

"A few months. I didn't want to hear lectures or anything if this didn't work out."

Delia dropped her spatula and hugged him. "Oh, sweetie, we wouldn't lecture you. We just want you to be happy, just like we told you at Thanksgiving. If it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out and we won't rub it in your face or lecture you or anything."

Kurt sighed. "I know, I know. I'm just being stupid."

"Yes, you are. When do you plan on telling Burt and Carole?"

Kurt shrugged. "I don't know. Blaine said he doesn't care if we never tell anyone, as long as I'm happy, but I don't want to keep this from Dad."

"Well, you're secret is safe with me." She squeezed him one last time and returned to her cooking, giving Kurt a lot of time to think.

A few days later Kurt slowly swayed with Blaine in contrast with the fast beat playing on the TV while they waited for the ball to drop on Times Square.

_10..._

9...

Kurt pulled back so he could look at Blaine's face.  
_  
8..._

7...

"I love you."

_6..._

5...

Blaine's breath caught in his throat.

_4..._

3...

"I love you, too."

_2..._

_1_...

Their lips met.

**A/N: So I'm really sorry about the lateness in posting this but the past two and a half weeks have been crazy busy and exhausting, leaving me with next to no time to write. To make up for it, I've left this one long and a little smutty. I don't think I've ever written clothed frottage before, so I'm sorry if it sucks. Actually, I'm sorry if any of this sucks but like I said, I've been exhausted.**


	5. Chapter 5

"Hello?"

"You totally had sex!"

Blaine pulled the phone away as she let out a peal of laughter. Yup, it was his best friend, Santana Lopez. They had grown up together, ever since her family had moved in next to the Anderson's when Blaine was six and had remained close even after he went to Dalton in high school and she began traveling the world after.

He brought the phone back to his ear as she cackled. "How can you even tell? I said ONE word!"

"Because Auntie Tana always knows."

"Whatever, 'Auntie Tana'. Are you back in the States?"

"Yup, yup, which means get your couch ready, bitch, 'cause we've got a lot of catching up to do."

"All right, when will you be in town?" Blaine asked as he arrived at the building, hurrying to step inside and out of the cold weather.

"I'm heading to the parentals right now. You still working at the school?"

"Yeah." He nodded at the woman behind the desk as he headed to the elevators.

"Hm, well, are you busy this weekend or are you going to be too busy fucking whoever to hang out with your dear old friend?"

"Charming as always, San," Blaine said, rolling his eyes as he stepped on the elevator and pressed the button for his floor. He considered the question briefly. It was the last week of January, which meant Kurt was busy getting the magazine ready to go to print and it always left him exhausted, so they rarely went out the weekend after. "No, we don't have any plans, so feel free to come out. I'll have the couch nice and ready for you," he smirked.

"Whatever, bitch, I call your bed. See you in two days." She hung up before he could retort, leaving him rolling his eyes and tucking his phone in his pocket as the elevator doors slid open. He nodded to the receptionist as he passed and made his way to Kurt's office in the back.

"Hey, Leigh, is he with someone?" Blaine asked, pausing at her desk outside Kurt's door.

"Hello, Blaine! Actually, he's on the phone right now. Is Mr. Hummel expecting you?"

"No, I wanted to surprise him." Blaine winked.

"Well, go ahead and go in, I won't tell," Leigh laughed, waving him on. Blaine grinned, pushing open the door and stepping inside, closing it silently behind him. Kurt was sitting at his desk with Sophie in his lap, trying to keep her quiet as he spoke with somebody on the phone.

As soon as she saw him, Sophie let out a squeal and climbed off Kurt's lap yelling, "Blaine! Blaine!"

He bent down to pick her up, shushing her and looking at Kurt guiltily. Kurt just looked at him fondly, though somewhat exasperated. Blaine kept Sophie occupied until Kurt was done and came over, collapsing on his couch behind where Blaine was sitting on the floor.

"Hey, sweetie," Blaine said, tipping his head back so he could smile at Kurt, who leaned forward to kiss him, upside down.

"Hey, honey. To what do I owe this pleasant surprise?"

"I just came by to pick up Sophie and take her home."

Kurt blinked stupidly at him. "What?"

Blaine moved from his spot up on the couch, facing him. "Baby, you're exhausted. I'm going to take Sophie to the flat and when you get home, she will be clean and in bed and you will have a nice hot meal and, if you're good, a bathtub full of hot water." Kurt opened his mouth to protest but Blaine cut him off with a kiss. "Nope, none of that. Do what you have to do and we'll be waiting when you get home, okay?"

Kurt leaned in for another kiss. "You're perfect," he sighed, his breath ghosting across Blaine's lips.

"Not really, but it's sweet you think so," Blaine chuckled. He stood up and pulled Kurt into his arms. "We'll see you in a few hours."

"Thank you," Kurt mumbled into his sweater. They held each other for a moment before letting go. Kurt grabbed Sophie, kissing her and telling her that she was going with Blaine, while Blaine shrugged on his jacket and held out Sophie's. Together, they got her bundled up and out the door.

True to his word, Sophie was clean, sleeping soundly in her bedroom, a plate of chicken, rice, vegetables, and a roll was sitting on the table, steam gently wafting off of it and Blaine was pouring him a glass of water. As soon as Kurt was situated at the table and eating, Blaine went to the bathroom and ran a hot bath, complete with lavender scented bubbles.

"What? Lavender helps you relax!" Blaine told him indigently when Kurt just looked at him. Kurt rolled his eyes, chuckling as he began to strip down. Since Christmas, they had progressed from clothed frottage to unclothed frottage (which had the added bonus of not messing up their pants) and so neither was embarrassed when they were both naked. Blaine slid into the tub first and motioned for Kurt to sit in front of him.

Once they were situated, Blaine slowly began massaging Kurt's shoulders, using a bit of shower gel to help his hands move smoothly. Kurt let out a moan, his head falling forward as Blaine worked him over.

"I'm pretty sure you have magic hands," Kurt said. He felt Blaine's answering chuckle vibrate against his back as his slick hands kneaded the sore muscles.

"Mmm, is that like those fingers that vibrate or something? Because that's really kinky," Blaine smirked, laughing when Kurt reached back to smack him. He pulled on Kurt's shoulders until he was leaning back on Blaine, the shower gel making them slide together as they relaxed. Blaine began rubbing Kurt's arms and chest as the other man sighed.

They sat there for a few minutes, Kurt slowly falling asleep as Blaine's hands worked over his chest before moving lower. His breath hitched as long fingers traced the lightly defined muscles of his abdomen and the bones of his hips. "Blaine..."

"Hmm."

"What are yo- Oh!" Kurt's eyes flew open as one of Blaine's hands circled around his half hard cock and began moving, stroking slowly. Kurt moaned, tilting his head back against Blaine's shoulder as his hands scramble for a hold on Blaine's thighs. "Fuck."

"Sh, you have to be quiet," Blaine murmured into his ear, twisting his wrist. Kurt bit his lip, breathing heavily through his nose as he tried to contain the noises threatening to escape. "You feel so good, so hot and thick in my hand. I'm so glad things worked out for us, so glad that you came back into my life because I've been thinking about this for so long," Blaine whispered, his grip becoming tighter as his hand worked faster over Kurt's cock. The water provided enough of a lubricant that the friction felt perfect as Blaine's thumb came up to run along the ridge of the head and his other hand moved to cup Kurt's balls. He could feel Blaine's cock, hard and long, against his ass, grinding as he worked him over, Kurt's body tensing as the heat built low in his stomach.

"I can't wait to see you come; you're so beautiful when you let go." Blaine's mouth attached to his shoulder as his arm came up, circling Kurt's torso and pulling him more completely in Blaine's lap, his hard cock running along Kurt's crack as his hand moved faster under the water. Kurt whimpered as the head brushed against his hole, the fire in him snapping as his back bowled up, coming almost silently, tiny whines and breathless gasps as his nails dug into Blaine's leg.

Before he came down, Blaine began thrusting frantically against him, the hand previously stroking Kurt's cock now wrapped around his hips. Teeth sank into the back of his neck as Blaine came, still rutting against him until they were both boneless, drifting in the soiled tub.

"This is pretty gross," Kurt said suddenly, his voice too loud in the silence.

Blaine laughed, burrowing his face into Kurt's shoulder. "I agree. What do you say we rinse off before I head home?"

"Do you-" Kurt hesitated before continuing, spurred on by Blaine's questioning hum. "Would you like to stay here tonight?" He didn't look at Blaine, just played with his wrinkly hands under the water.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, if you want to."

Soft, wet lips pressed against his cheek. "I would love to."

888

They both woke up at Kurt's alarm clock buzzing, their legs tangled together and Blaine sprawled across Kurt's chest. He took a moment to nuzzle the fabric under his cheek before propping his chin up.

"Stop looking at me," Kurt moaned, slapping the snooze button and flopping his arm over his face.

Blaine reached up, tugging at his arm. "No, let me see your beautiful face," he cajoled. Kurt finally relented, pouting at him as he hovered over Kurt. He grinned brightly. "Good morning, honey."

"Mmm, good morning." He craned his neck up so that he could kiss Blaine but quickly pulled back, his nose scrunched. "Sorry, morning breath."

"Damn, I don't have a toothbrush here either," Blaine groaned. He ducked down, brushing their lips together and Kurt was just considering deepening it, stinky breath be damned, when his alarm clock buzzed again.

"Fuck." He dropped back, slapping the newest cockblock in their lives. Blaine sighed, rolling off of him.

"It's fine, I should get home anyway." He pulled himself out of bed, grabbing his shirt and pants from where they were carefully folded on the nightstand next to him and tugging them on while Kurt went to the bathroom. He exited just before Blaine could leave the room, a small white cup in his hand.

"Swish this around in your mouth so I can kiss you goodbye," he demanded. Blaine looked down to see it was full of blue liquid and gave of a strong antiseptic smell. Smirking slightly, he took it and drained the whole thing, obediently rinsing his mouth. Moving past Kurt, he spat in the sink and washed his lips off.

"Satisfied?"

Kurt's arms curled around his neck as he leaned in. "Very much so."

"You need to get ready," he murmured. Kurt sighed, nodding even as he moved back in for another kiss.

"All right, get going," he finally said, smacking Blaine's ass before releasing him.

"Don't start something you can't finish, Hummel," Blaine retorted, mock glaring.

"Now I'm really leaving." He kissed him one last time before heading out, locking the door behind him. Once he arrived at his flat, he stripped down and showered. No matter how reluctant he was to wash the scent of Kurt off of him, he had to get ready for work. The day wore on with only a quick hello when Kurt dropped off Sophie and picked her up. Blaine had already told him about his plans for the weekend the night before and they agreed it probably wouldn't be a good idea for Blaine to come over again that night, so other than a few texts and seeing each other at the school, they didn't talk. Kurt was busy at work and Blaine was trying to get his flat ready for his visitor.

Santana was waiting, rather impatiently, for him when he got home Friday afternoon, rolling her eyes even as she embraced him tightly. They ordered take away and spent the night catching up on each other's lives, staying up well into the next morning. Only once they were eating brunch did she ask about who he was having sex with. Blaine told her the whole story, giving details that he had glossed over the night before. After he was done, she looked at him carefully.

"You really like this guy," she finally said.

Blaine bit his lip. "I'm in love with him, San."

She stared at him a moment longer before smiling knowingly and talking about the guys and girls she had hooked up with on her overseas adventures. The rest of the weekend was the same, interlaced with favourite movies and stories from their childhood. Sunday night, they hugged for a long time outside of Blaine's building.

"I'm going to miss you, hobbit," she mumbled into his shoulder.

"I'm going to miss you too, Satan."

She pulled back, swiping angrily at her tears. "I'll be back in a year or so, okay? And I want to meet your boy then, if he's still around."

Blaine nodded. "I'm sure he will be."

"Good. He better treat you right or Snix is going to come out to play," she threatened. The taxi driver waiting at the curb huffed, irritated at having been kept waiting. Santana glared at him hatefully before turning back to Blaine. "See you later, B."

He opened the door to the cab and slowly released her hand when she was seated. "Bye, San. Love you."

"Yeah, yeah, love you, too," she replied, brushing off the sentiment with a wave of her hand. He stood outside and waited until the car was out of sight before going back upstairs and texting Kurt.

888

A couple of weeks later found Kurt scrunching his nose as he looked at the mass of red and pink construction paper hearts plastered all over the school. He was waiting at the office for them to bring Sophie up, since she had a doctor's appointment, but now all he could think about was the fact that Valentine's day was the next day.

"What's that look for?" a voice chuckled behind him. He turned to find Blaine standing there with Sophie, who immediately let go of him to run to Kurt.

"Oh, I just realized that tomorrow is Valentine's Day." He picked up his daughter and looked up just in time to see Blaine frowning.

"You don't like Valentine's Day?"

Kurt shrugged. "It's just kinda cheesy."

"Oh."

888

"What did you mean earlier?" Blaine asked that night as they were sitting down to eat at his place. Sophie sat in the booster seat Blaine had bought for his flat, carefully sipping at a cup of juice as Kurt cut her meat for her.

"What?"

"Earlier today, when you were picking up Sophie, what you said. Do you not like Valentine's Day?"

Kurt shrugged, cutting into his own chicken breast. "Not really. I mean, it's a holiday designed to make single people feel lonelier and make men spend more money on their girlfriends or wives or whatever."

"But you're not single this year," Blaine pressed.

"No, but I still find the holiday incredibly cheesy."

"Oh." There was a beat of silence. "So you don't want to go out tomorrow night?"

Kurt's fork clattered as it dropped from his numb fingers. "What?"

"I just thought, since it was our first Valentine's Day together..." Blaine shrugged, not looking at Kurt as he stabbed some peas with his fork.

"Blaine, do _you_ want to go out?"

Blaine paused, considering it. He'd always liked Valentine's Day, even when he was single. It was a day all about spreading (admittedly overpriced) love and he was a big fan of that. But it wouldn't be any fun if Kurt wasn't _having_ fun. "Well, I was thinking about it but if you don't want to, we don't have to." He smiled sweetly at Kurt. "We can just do what we do every night; we don't have to waste money going out and showing off our love. We know we love each other and that's all that matters."

Kurt picked up Blaine's free hand, tangling their fingers together. "Are you sure, sweetie? We can do something."

"As long as I get to spend it with you, that's all that matters." Blaine squeezed his fingers, smiling sweetly at Kurt before they returned to their meal and let Sophie pick a movie for the night. In the back of his mind, Blaine began to plan.

Blaine started making his chilli after they left, allowing it to simmer overnight. When Kurt and Sophie came over, they spent their Valentine's Day eating it while watching a few stupid-funny comedy movies Kurt had borrowed from Finn.

"This is much better than going to some overpriced, crowded restaurant," Blaine whispered, smiling sleepily when Kurt nuzzles the top of his head and hummed contently.

"I concur."

The next day after lunch, Blaine entered his classroom to find a bouquet of dark red, black, and white roses on his desk. His brow furrowed, he found the card that went with it, smiling as he read.

_Who needs a crappy holiday when I can tell you I love you every day?_

_XO_

_Kurt_

He flipped it over to read the meanings behind the roses.

_Dark red - __Deep passion, readiness for a commitment, unconscious beauty_

_Black - Beginning of new things or journey, courage & resistance_

_White - Everlasting love, new beginnings, I am worthy of you_

_21 roses - I'm committed to you_

888

"Blaine, Sophie, I'm home," Kurt called out Friday night as he unwound his scarf from his neck. Every since the last week in January, Blaine had taken to picking up Sophie from the office after he left the school. The two would be waiting for him at home with dinner ready and Kurt was constantly reminded of the old days.

When only silence greeted him, he frowned, hanging up his coat and blinking in shock when he stepped into his living room. Two rows of candles, set far enough apart to leave a pathway for him, sat on the floor, leading around the corner to the hallway and, once he followed it, into his bedroom. As he moved closer, he could hear soft music floating out of the open door and see the flicker of even more candles.

Stepping inside, he stared at the sight of Blaine, propped up on his bed and only wearing a pair of loose pyjama pants. His mouth went dry as his eyes raked over his lightly muscled torso, the bulge of his biceps, the veins prominent even in the low light.

"Hey, sweetie."

"Heeey, honey." Kurt dragged his eyes up to find Blaine smirking at him. "What's this about?"

"Well, I wanted to do something for Valentine's Day, but since you didn't want to, I didn't push. But then you sent me those beautiful roses yesterday and I knew I had to do something for you." He stood and walked over to where Kurt was frozen and Kurt could see just how low-slung those pants were. He swallowed back a whimper as Blaine stopped in front of him.

There were no more words, just Blaine's lips on his, his hands coming up to grip the naked skin of Blaine's waist as Blaine began tugging at his shirt, pulling it from his pants and separating their lips long enough to take it off, followed by his undershirt. He began loosening the knot in Blaine's pants as the other man returned the favor, slipping the button out of the hole, the sound of his zipper being pulled down lost to their heady breaths and the music still playing.

Their pants dropped at the same time, landing in puddles at their feet. Blaine knelt, pulling Kurt's underwear down with him and helping him out of his shoes and socks. Kurt's hands were on his shoulders, keeping him steady as he let Blaine undress him. The moment his feet were free, Blaine stood, wrapping his arms around Kurt and walking backwards until his calves hit the bed, then brought Kurt down with him as he fell back. Kurt nudged him until he was scooting backwards, eventually hitting the pillows.

Kurt settled between Blaine's legs, using one arm to hold himself up and the other hand was buried in Blaine's hair, silky and gel free, as they kissed. Blaine kept his hands on Kurt's hips, pressing their lower bodies together. Their tongues moved together, each giving a little before taking a little, as Blaine rocked his hips upward.

"Wait, wait," Kurt panted, pulling back. Blaine let out a whine at the loss. "Just- Hold on. Where's Sophie?"

"She's with your brother," Blaine said. He tried to tug Kurt back down but the other man resisted.

"What about the candles in the living room? I don't want the flat to catch on fire."

"Flameless candles, nothing will burn. Now shut up and kiss me."

Kurt obeyed, tilting Blaine's head back as his tongue started to fuck into Blaine's mouth. One of Blaine's hands let go and reached under the pillow next to his head and then he was pushing something into the hand next to his head. Surprised, Kurt looked down to find a condom and a bottle of lube.

"Are, are you sure?" His voice was barely a whisper.

Blaine nodded. "I want you. All of you."

Kurt made an odd sound before diving back in, their teeth clacking in the rush as Blaine's nails scratched lightly down his back. Kurt worked him open slowly, allowing Blaine to roll the condom down his hard cock, and savouring the moment he sank into the heat of the other man's body for the first time. They moved together seamlessly, hands roaming, feeling muscles flex under fingertips as they breathed each other's air, their faces never more than a couple of inches apart.

Afterwards, they tangled their limbs together and slept soundly, the flameless candles flickering around them.

888

The weather grew warmer, the lingering remnants of snow melting away as February turned to March and March faded to April. Storms were happening more and more frequently and Kurt often teased Blaine for trying to cheer everyone up by repeating, "April showers bring May flowers!"

The last week of April, just after Kurt's 'Hell Week' at work, the two were lounging about in Kurt's living room, kissing lazily and enjoying the quiet Saturday, since Sophie had gone with her aunt and uncle to the park. They were discussing possibly putting a movie in when Kurt's phone buzzed.

"No, ignore it, come back," Blaine pouted. Kurt rolled his eyes, smiling fondly as he sat up on the couch and grabbed his phone. Blaine tuned out the conversation, running his hands lightly over Kurt's back until the other man swatted at him. He looked up to find Kurt's mouth trembling as he spoke.

"-with Finn, I'll call him if yo- Okay, no, that's fine. Yeah, uh, all right. Yeah, okay, I'll talk to you later. Love you, too, Carole. And Dad. Okay, okay, 'bye."

"Kurt, what's wrong?" He sat up quickly, all of the playfulness of the afternoon fading completely at the look of devastation on Kurt's face when he turned to look at Blaine.

"Um, that was Carole. She…" he swallowed thickly. "It's Delia."


	6. Chapter 6

The sun shone brightly, as though it, too, was in denial of the events transpiring. Blaine could feel it beating down, heating up his black suit jacket, as he stood silently next to Kurt. Sophie was propped on Blaine's hip, her head on his shoulder as she quietly watched the preacher speaking above the casket. Kurt's face was impassive; his only tell was the stiff way he held his body. His eyes remained dry, as they had for the past four days. The only time he had cried had been the day they found out about Delia.

_"What about Delia?" His heart was pounding in his chest as he watched his boyfriend try to form words through the tears streaking down his cheeks._

_"There-there was a-a storm, on the coast. Delia was d-driving home and got caught in it. She's-she's dead." He fell into Blaine's open arms, sobbing heavily.__  
_

By the time Finn and Jen had brought Sophie home, their faces pale after hearing the news, Kurt had calmed down and was looking at flights for all of them to Ohio. He and Blaine had already talked about it and Blaine had promised to go, since Delia had always made him feel like part of the family. They had left the next day, Kurt handling all of the funeral arrangements while Burt and Carole flew out to North Carolina to identify the body.

And now they watched as the remains of Kurt's aunt were lowered into the ground. Quiet sniffles were heard throughout the assembled group as first Burt, then Kurt, stepped forward, grabbing a handful of dirt and tossing it into the grave. Each handful, thrown in by a family member, landed with a hollow thump until the group had dispersed, leaving only the Hummel men and Blaine; Carole, Jen, and Finn had taken Sophie back to the house to get ready for everyone to come over.

They watched as the caretakers began shoveling dirt in the hole until Burt mentioned that they needed to get home. Blaine, still very conscious of the fact that Kurt's family didn't know about them, slid his hand into Kurt's, lacing their fingers together. "Come on, we should go," he said quietly.

Kurt jerked at his words, his eyes wide as he looked at him. "What?"

"We need to go to the house; your family is there," Blaine told him slowly.

Kurt blinked at him for a moment before nodding. With one last look at the rapidly filling grave, he allowed Blaine to lead him to their rental car and slid into the backseat. Blaine watched him for a moment, making sure he wasn't going to fall over and that he buckled up before sitting in the front seat next to Burt. The ride to the house was silent and, to Kurt, it seemed to take no time at all before Blaine was opening the door for him. He took the offered hand and the comforting arm around his waist as Blaine led him inside where most of his family was gathered, most with a plate of food in their hands and chatting quietly.

After sitting him down at the kitchen table, Blaine fixed three plates from the many dishes people had brought over and set one in front of Kurt. "Will you make sure he eats?" he asked Carole quietly, waiting for her nod before leaving the room.

"Kurt, sweetie, you really should eat," Carole told him gently.

"I'm not hungry," he whispered.

"Baby-"

"Please, Carole, just." He sighed. "Don't."

Burt settled next to his son at the table. "Listen buddy, I know you're upset, but you need to eat. Sophie is counting on you to stay healthy."

"Don't try to guilt me into eating, Dad," Kurt whispered, still gazing blankly at the plate of food in front of him.

Burt was saved from further arguing with his son when Blaine stepped into the room, Sophie on his hip. He placed her in front of the smaller plate, straightening out the shirt and pants Jen had changed her into before sitting on the other side of Kurt. When he noticed that Kurt's food was untouched, he sighed and nudged his hand. When Kurt looked up, he quirked an eyebrow at him and pointed his fork at Kurt's plate, a silent exchange going on between the two. Without a word, Kurt picked up his fork and slowly started eating, grimacing. The food, while delicious, sat heavy on his tongue and felt too thick as he swallowed.

Burt and Carole watched them and were surprised when Kurt didn't argue with Blaine, he simply started eating. They exchanged a look of their own before Burt stood, bending to kiss Kurt's head before walking towards the living room. His Aunt Edna stopped him just outside of the doorway.

"Hello, Burton," she said, pulling him into a tight hug that he returned.

"Hello, Auntie, how are you?"

"Sad, sad."

Burt nodded, glancing back at where Blaine was eating, giving Kurt pointed looks whenever he paused too long between bites.

"Who is that young man, Burton? I know all of the family and I've never met him before."

"That's-" Burt's brow furrowed. Based on how he knew both of the men felt and the way Kurt and Blaine were interacting NOW, he was sure there was more going on than just friendship, though both still denied it. "That's Blaine. He's a close friend of Kurt's."

Edna snorted. "A close friend, I'm sure. Those two are in love."

Burt blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Really, Burton, it's obvious to anyone with eyes. I haven't seen Kurt eat anything in the past two days unless that boy was the one giving it to him. I know how close he was to Delia and the fact that this mystery boy is helping him through it?" She rolled her eyes, turning away from the scene and patting Burt's chest lightly. "Well, I need to go, give me another hug."

Edna seemed to open the floodgates. Not long after she left, people began seeking him out to once again give him their condolences before leaving and soon it was just their little family. Jen kissed Burt's cheek, claiming to have a head ache and saying she was going to bed. Finn followed her, promising her a shoulder massage to help her feel better. Kurt was sitting on the floor in the living room, half heartedly playing with Sophie, his back pressed against Blaine's legs from where he was seated on the sofa.

Unaware of Burt standing in the doorway, Blaine leaned over and kissed the top of Kurt's head. Burt heard him murmur something, too quiet for him to hear, and Kurt nodded before standing and scooping up Sophie.

"All right, little missy, bath time," Kurt said in a falsely cheerful voice. Burt stepped back in to the kitchen, accepting a cup of coffee from Carole with a smile and a peck on the cheek. He was just settling at the table with some papers he had to go over when Blaine wandered in.

"Hey, sport, what's up?" Burt asked nonchalantly.

"Kurt's giving Sophie a bath so I thought I would come see if Carole needed any help with the dishes." He grabbed a stack from the counter.

"That's very sweet of you but you don't have to, dear." She smiled as he deposited them by the sink. Returning her smile, they began washing the dishes and loading the dishwasher, enjoying the peace after days of hectic running around. "Blaine, I know I'm speaking for both myself and Burt when I say, thank you."

"For what?"

"For taking care of Kurt the way you have been and being there for both him and Sophie. We- We worry about him, out there in New York, raising a child by himself. And then you came along and it seemed like- like his world was a little brighter than before." Carole swatted at the tears that were falling and succeeded only in making her cheeks wetter from the dishwater. With a chuckle, Blaine picked up a clean towel and handed it to her.

"He makes my world a little brighter, too, and I promise to keep taking care of him."

Wet hands be damned, Carole pulled him into a tight hug. They were nearly finished when Kurt brought Sophie, washed, dried, and in jammies, down to give night-night kisses to everyone. Carole shooed Blaine away, insisted that she could finish up by herself. He followed Kurt upstairs, watching him put Sophie to bed. They exchanged a kiss and then a hug.

"One more kiss," Sophie insisted, puckering her lips. Kurt obliged, only to have her say, "One more hug."

Blaine heard him chuckle as he leaned down, squeezing her tightly but gently. "Goodnight, sweetie."

"Night Dada! Blaine, kisses!" Blaine laughed, coming to sit on the other side of the bed across from Kurt. He leaned over, placing kisses all over her face and making her giggle as she tried to push him off. "Goodnight, Miss Sophie."

"Goodnight, Blaine!" She grabbed a stuffed bear and pulled it close, her eyes following them out of the room until the door was closed.

Blaine followed Kurt to his old room, easing him down on the bed and kneeling to pull of his boots for him. Kurt stripped down to just his undershirt and a pair of pyjama pants that Blaine recognized as his. Lying back, he rolled onto his side, presenting his back to Blaine, who took off his shoes and curled up against him.

He pressed a kiss to the back of Kurt's neck. "I like being the big spoon," he mumbled, feeling Kurt's weak chuckle from where they were touching. It soon dissolved into tears, sobs rocking his body as he finally let it all out. Blaine just held him until he fell asleep, unable to do more and wishing he could take the pain away.

888

Two days later found the group of them sitting in a lawyer's office in North Carolina as the white haired man behind the desk read Delia's will. She had had a large life insurance policy taken out on herself with Kurt as the primary beneficiary; it was more than enough to pay off what little debt she had as well as pay for any repairs on the house. She had also left her chain of barbeque restaurants to Sophie, with all of the profits going into a trust that would be available to her at the age of eighteen if she went to college, twenty one if she didn't. Delia had added that if either Kurt or Finn had any more children, the profits would be split equally between the kids, going into a trust for each. There were a few other things to be given to so-and-so cousin, but other than that, the meeting was short and soon they were walking back out into the waiting room where Blaine was sitting with Sophie.

"Hey," Blaine asked, standing and moving Sophie to his hip, "how did it go?"

"Good, good," Burt told him as Kurt took Sophie. "She left Kurt the house; we're going to check it out, see if it needs any repairs. Do you want to come with us?"

They all piled into the rental and drove down to the house, an hour away from the lawyer's office. Blaine spoke quietly to Kurt for most of the trip, Sophie nestled in her seat between them. Burt was pleased to see the dead look in his son's eyes was mostly gone, replaced with something else every time he looked at Blaine. Burt was beginning to think that crazy Aunt Edna might not be so crazy after all.

He was pleasantly surprised to see that the house was in good condition despite the storm. The roof would need some repairs and some parts of the house had been torn away in the front, but other than that, it was okay. He unlocked the door, ignoring the tears prickling the corner of his eyes as the familiar scent of his sister's home washed over him. He had put on a brave front thus far but standing in Delia's living room, knowing she would never step foot in here again...

"Let's get settled, kiddos."

888

Over the next few days, Burt fixed a few things that needed to be repair and arranged for workers to fix what he doesn't have time for. One of Delia's neighbours (the one that always cared for her plants and such) agreed to let the workers in the house after the family leaves as well as bringing a casserole over the second night they're there, giving her condolences. Kurt stayed by Blaine's side for the most part, rarely moving away if he didn't have to. They spent a good part of the time going through Delia's things, figuring out what they wanted to keep and what was to be given away.

The day before they left, Kurt was on the couch, surrounded by photo albums. He was so engrossed that he didn't notice Blaine until the other man wrapped his arms around his shoulders, making him jump.

"Oop, sorry, honey," Blaine murmured into his ear. "Whatcha doin'?"

"I found Delia's photo albums." He cleared off the space next to him and patted it. "Where's Sophie?" he asked as Blaine settled next to him.

"Carole wanted to go for a walk and Sophie wanted to go with her."

"So we have the house to ourselves?"

"For the next twenty minutes or so, yeah."

Kurt smiled, leaning over to kiss Blaine. They hadn't been able to do much lately, nearly always surrounded by family, and Kurt had been too heartbroken to do anything anyways. He pulled back too soon for either of their tastes and rested his head on Blaine's shoulder. "Would you like to look through them with me?"

"Sure."

Kurt turned back to the beginning of the book in his hands, launching into all of the different stories about the people in the black in white photos that he had heard over the years. They sat there for hours, watching as the photographs turned to colour, then became clearer and clearer. Occasionally the others joined in, throwing in their own stories, laughing and sometimes wiping away a tear. By the time night had fallen and everyone else had gone to bed, they were up to Christmas of last year.

Kurt laughed, pointing to a picture of Finn grinning goofily, a bright pink ribbon tied around his head, Jenn in the background laughing hysterically. Blaine flipped the page and his eyebrows furrowed. "When was that one taken?"

Kurt glanced at the page. "Huh, I don't know." They examined it for a moment. Sophie was standing on one of Blaine's legs, her hands grabbing at his face while his head was thrown back, face twisted in a grimace, clearly trying to escape the probing fingers. Kurt was half lying on the floor in laughter, his eyes sparkling with happiness as he watched them.

They stare at the picture for a moment before Kurt said, "Do you ever think about us? I mean, our future?"

Blaine looked over at him. "Of course; do you?"

Kurt nodded slowly. "I do, often." Blaine smiled, leaning in for a kiss. Kurt happily accepted, his lips gliding slickly against Blaine's.

"So what do you see, when you think about our future?" Blaine asked, pulling back just enough that their lips brushed with every word.

"Everything," Kurt whispered back, tugging him back for another kiss.

888

"So what are you going to do with the house?" Burt asked the next day as they drove back to the airport.

Kurt shrugged. "Blaine and I were thinking to keep it as a summerhouse for now."

"'Blaine and I?'" Burt raised an eyebrow at him in the review mirror.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Yes, Dad, Blaine and I. When two people are in an adult relationship, they talk about things like that."

"Wait, you and Blaine are together?" Carole practically squealed, twisting around in her seat.

Kurt rolled his eyes again, though he was smiling. "Yes, we are." he shared a soft look with Blaine while Carole aww'd.

"For how long?" Burt asked.

"Forever, hopefully."

Burt gave him an unimpressed look. "Smart aleck, I meant how long have you two been together?"

"A few months," Kurt said, shifting uncomfortably when Burt gave him another look. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to say anything for stupid reasons and I was going to tell you but I just kept not saying anything and I'm sorry."

"Kurt." He met his fathers' eyes. "I'm really happy for you."

It was like a weight he never knew he was carrying lifted off of his shoulders and he smiled in relief. The rest of the drive was spent questioning the couple; Blaine was just happy things were out in the open now.

888

The next year passed in about of birthdays, holidays, and anniversaries. Each time, they felt the weight of Delia's disappearance from their lives. Kurt was hopeful that it would ease over time; not so they could forget her, but so they could move past the aching loss.

Kurt and Blaine's relationship evolved, adapting to each new change with an easy familiarity that would have shaken them to the core if it hadn't felt so right. It was a week before the one year anniversary of Delia's death that Kurt finally broached the subject they had only spoken about a few times. Blaine was trying to leave for the night and Kurt was clinging to him, his legs wrapped tight around Blaine's waist and his arms locked around his chest.

"Please stay," Kurt pouted, nipping at Blaine's earlobe and earning a moan.

"Honey, you know I want to but I need to get home." His hands ran up and down Kurt's legs for a moment before he sighed and attempted to pry them apart.

"I have an idea," Kurt murmured, holding fast. "Let me tell you it and then I will let you go, okay?" Blaine relented, relaxing back against him and nodding. "We've been together for almost a year and a half, right? And you know how much I hate it when you leave late at night. So, what do you think about moving in together?"

Blaine went completely still in his arms. "What?"

"Move in. Together. As a couple. Take the next big step. Mesh our lives together. I could go on."

"No, I got it, I'm just… surprised, I guess."

"Well, I've been thinking about it for a while and we've talked about it before, you know, so I just thought I would ask you. But don't feel like you have to say yes, I mean, I'm not trying to pressure you or anything."

Blaine held up a hand, waiting for Kurt to quiet before sitting up and facing him. "Kurt, this is a big step, not just for us but for Sophie as well."

"I know that and I've taken it into consideration. I'm pretty sure she loves you more than I do; you should hear her on the nights you can't make it over. She walks around looking for you, Blaine, literally calling out your name. I know she would love it if you- if we lived together like a family."

Blaine moved until he had Kurt pushed back against the couch and straddled his thighs. "You really want this?"

"Only if you do," Kurt told him, looking up at him, his blue eyes happy and peaceful.

"Then we need to start looking for a new flat."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Yeah, I suck for not updating sooner, I know. Sometimes life hands you lemons and you just don't have the energy to do much else after making a shit load of lemonade. Hopefully a slightly longer chapter will make it up to you guys. Plus, there's lovely smutty stuff at the end, so yea?**

**Also, this is the second to last chapter of the fic! Wheeeeee!**

Finding a place for all of them and their stuff proved to be harder than they originally thought.

Apartments were out; not enough space. They talked about buying a house on the outskirts of the city but set that idea to back burner, both agreeing that they weren't quite ready for that step; a townhouse was a less scary prospect. They agreed that three bedrooms and an office/music room would be ideal, so they went to the realtor who had sold Kurt his apartment and put both of their places on the market. Thanks to Grandpa Anderson, who had set up a trust fund for Blaine long ago, he had owned his apartment. Kurt had managed to get through school mostly on scholarships and grants and so the college fund that Burt had dutifully paid into every month went to paying for Kurt's apartment and running a successful magazine had paid for the rest.

The first place they look at is too small and smells a bit too much like fishsticks for Kurt. The second is too far from Blaine and Sophie's school. The third was just… No. They seemed to have the worst luck until, seven viewings later, they found the perfect place.

Kurt and Sophie finally met Blaine's parents in November. Scheduling conflicts had prevented them from meeting sooner, though Grace and Kurt spoke on the phone often. Blaine loaded their bags into his trunk and the three of them left the city one Friday night to stay over for the weekend. The Anderson's were already asleep by the time they arrived so Blaine led them upstairs to his old room.

When Kurt woke up the next morning, Blaine was snoring softly next to him and Sophie was nowhere to be seen. Panicking slightly, because she could be anywhere in the large and unfamiliar house, Kurt threw the covers off and exited the room, keeping his eye peeled for Sophie. She wasn't in the bathroom and he knew she wouldn't go into any of the rooms with a closed door, since that had been a rule since she began crawling, so Kurt headed downstairs.

Giggles caught his attention as he stepped off of the staircase. Following the sound, Kurt found himself in a large kitchen, his daughter and a small woman with grey streaked black hair who Kurt instantly recognized as Blaine's mother standing over a stove. Sophie was giggling madly as the woman helped her flip what appeared to be pancakes. He watched them as he quietly made his way across the room.

"Good morning, messy girl!" Kurt cooed, kissing the top of Sophie's hair. "What are you doing?"

"Hi Daddy! Making cakes!"

"Pancakes," the woman corrected gently. She looked up at Kurt and smiled warmly. "You must be Kurt; Blaine's told me so much about you."

Kurt offered his hand and was pleasantly surprised at the firm handshake he got in return. "Hello, Mrs. Anderson, it's so nice to finally meet you. I hope Sophie wasn't too much trouble; you could have woken me up."

Mrs. Anderson waved him off. "Nonsense, I needed someone to help me make the pancakes and Miss Sophie was more than happy to volunteer." She hugged Sophie and then helped her pull the pancakes off. "Oh, and I told you to call me Grace. That doesn't change just because we're meeting face to face for the first time."

"Of course, Grace, I'm sorry." He watched them pour more batter and smiled as Sophie giggled happily. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Talk to me. Blaine tells me you're from Ohio?" She waited for Kurt's affirming nod before continuing. "You know, we used to live in Dayton when Blaine was little. He doesn't remember, of course, we moved here when he was three, but James' sister still lives out there."

Kurt listened to Grace tell stories about Blaine growing up and told Grace about raising Sophie as a single father. She asked what he planned on doing when Sophie was older and started becoming a young woman and Kurt couldn't keep the blush off his face. "Um, I have my sister-in-law and my stepmom to help with, uh, that stuff."

Everyone turned as Blaine and James stumbled into the kitchen, both yawning and stretching at the same time. "And you have me," Grace said, tilting her face to accept James' kiss on her cheek. Kurt smiled up at Blaine as he wrapped his arms around Kurt's shoulders, kissing the top of his head. "I've always wanted a granddaughter," she added with a wink at Blaine.

***

Kurt's place sold first, in mid-November, and they came to a realization that neither had considered; both of them had full furniture sets in the living room, kitchen, and bedroom.

"Well, we'll we just get rid of your furniture, since mine is newer," Kurt said as they ate dinner that night.

Blaine's eyes narrowed as he looked at Kurt across the table. "So just because your stuff is newer, mine should just be disregarded? That hardly seems fair, Kurt."

"I'm not saying that, I'm just saying that yours is more used. Honey, that couch is falling apart and every time I sit on it, a spring pokes my butt."

"Butt," Sophie giggled into her plate.

"So you're just going to decide what happens with everything with the new place, then?" Blaine sat down his fork and stared.

"That's not what I meant, Blaine," Kurt sighed in exasperation.

"That's what it sounds like, Kurt."

"Can we not do this in front of Sophie?" Kurt finally snapped, glancing at his daughter, watching them with wide eyes.

"Better yet, I'll just talk to you later," Blaine said, standing. He paused to kiss Sophie's head and walked out without another word.

***

At first, Kurt was just angry. He was just trying to plan how to move into his new place better; why couldn't Blaine understand that? He tossed and turned the night of the fight, being alternatively mad and irritated with Blaine. Mad because he walked out. Irritated because he didn't stay to talk. He didn't bother checking if Blaine made it home safe, just put Sophie down at bedtime and flopped on his bed, stewing. The carefully packed boxes around his apartment mocked him.

After a night of tossing and turning, however, he realized how selfish he was being. It wasn't just _his_ place; it was theirs, one they would be living in together. He should have spoken to Blaine first, got his opinions on things instead of just assuming he knew best. He wanted to call Blaine, to apologize, but he wasn't sure if Blaine even wanted to talk to him. In the end, he went through his morning routine, minus exchanging good morning texts with his boyfriend. The day flew by without a word from Blaine and by the time Kurt put Sophie down for bed, he was growing worried. They hadn't gone a day without at least _texting_ each other since they started dating.

The next day was basically the same, but much more dragging. As he carted a fussing Sophie, who was belligerent over the fact that she hadn't got to see Blaine since he walked out, into the elevator in their building, he considered calling Blaine. Even if he didn't want to talk to Kurt, maybe he would calm Sophie down a bit. His keys clattered into the bowl set by the door and he looked down with a frown. Blaine's keys sat there innocently; the sound of splashing water drew his attention to the kitchen as he set Sophie down. She raced forward, her happy screech of "BLAINE!" echoing through the apartment.

Kurt carefully hung up his jacket before scooping Sophie's off of the floor and doing the same. He rounded the corner to find Blaine standing at the stove. A colander of noodles was in the sink draining as Blaine stirred a pot of something (it smelled delicious). He looked up when he heard Kurt move into the doorway and gave him a small smile. "Dinner will be ready soon," he said quietly.

"Thank you for cooking; you didn't have to," Kurt replied, just as quiet. He picked up a much happier Sophie as Blaine grabbed a pot holder and opened the oven door, pulling out a sheet with chicken on it.

Blaine shrugged. "I wanted to. I made your favorite; chicken parmesan. I just need to heat up the garlic bread."

Kurt nodded, even though Blaine's back was to him. "We'll get the drinks ready." He stepped closer cautiously, leaning past Blaine to grab a couple of cups and bringing their faces right next to each other. He hesitated for a moment before leaning forward to press a kiss to Blaine's cheek. "I'm sorry, about…"

"No, don't." Blaine shook his head. "We'll talk about it later; let's just enjoy dinner, okay?" He gave Kurt another small smile and turned back to making their plates. Sophie helped Kurt get the drinks (meaning she held her cup while Kurt poured juice for her) and settled in her seat at the table. He went back to the kitchen to help Blaine bring the plates of chicken, roasted potatoes, salad, and garlic bread to the table and they settled into their seats.

"I'm sorry," Kurt said, unable take the silence any longer.

Blaine looked up from his plate. "For what?"

"For just assuming that you wouldn't want to help make plans for the new place. I get into my head sometimes and I forget about other people's opinions. I've gotten so used to just making all of the decisions myself that I forgot to ask for your input like I should have. My brain just sort of went on auto pilot. It's not that I don't want your opinion or anything, I swear. I just-" Kurt let out a huff. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too. I should have came back and talked to you after I cooled down instead of ignoring you like a petulant child. I just-" Blaine let out a soft hmm. "I'm so used to being ignored. I mean, don't get me wrong, my parents are great and everything, but they always favored 'smart and talented' Cooper. It always felt like I was struggling to make myself heard when I was younger and my opinions were often pushed aside. I guess I'm not really over it, which is stupid, I know, but-"

"It's not stupid," Kurt cut in. His hand reached across the table for Blaine's. "This is something that affected you for years, it's not something you can just, you know, get over with the snap of your fingers. These are things about each other that we have to adjust to if we want to stick together for the long haul." He lifted Blaine's hand, brushing his lips across his knuckles. "I love you and I want to know everything about you."

"I love you too and I want the same thing." Blaine leaned over to kiss the corner of Kurt's mouth just as Kurt turned his head, both of them giggling when their noses bumped.

"Ew, you're gross, Papa," Sophie interrupted, her nose scrunched.

"Papa?" Kurt questioned as Blaine pulled back. "What happened to 'Daddy'?"

Sophie giggled. "Silly Daddy, Blaine is Papa, not you!"

The men glance at each other. "I don't understand, sweetie," Blaine said, frowning slightly.

"Sue Ellen in my class has two mommies and she said that she calls one of them mommy and the other one mama, so I decided that Blaine is like my other daddy, so he's Papa and you're Daddy." Sophie looked very pleased with her five year old logic, shoving a forkful of spaghetti noodles in her mouth.

The two men glance at each other, shocked. Blaine asked a question with his eyes (is this okay?) and Kurt nodded, smiling as tears glimmered at the corners of his eyes.

"I would be very pleased to be your Papa, Miss Sophie," Blaine told her, standing up and walking over to give her a kiss on the top of her head.

That night when they put her to bed, he leaned over again, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Good night, Miss Sophie."

"Good night, Papa. I love you."

"I love you too."

***

Things moved along from there. They both sold their furniture sets, keeping a few pieces that hold special meaning (like the huge comfy recliner that belonged to Grandpa Anderson and could easily hold all three of them and Kurt's mothers dresser) and simply bought a whole new set for their new place. It was a lovely brownstone in Chelsea with enough space for them and all of their stuff, including Blaine's piano, though they had to settle for a three bedroom, three and a half bathroom duplex with a private terrace. They simply set up the piano is the master suite on the bottom floor, along with the guest bed for when family or friends come to visit, taking the upstairs master suite for themselves and giving Sophie the smaller room. Blaine's flat sold two days before they signed the final paperwork for their new place and then it's a frantic rush to move everything.

Kurt insisted on cleaning the new place himself from top to bottom but finally broke when he realized he couldn't do it AND deal with hell week at work at the same time. The maid service Blaine hired did an amazing job anyway and the first Saturday they're able to actually move in, they wrangled the former Warblers (in town specifically for their friends newest step in life, just as he had been there for theirs), Finn, Jenn, Rachel and her newest beau Brody, along with friends from work into helping them. Six hours, two dozen pizzas, a thirty pack of beer, two bottles of wine, a special can of soda ("because you've been such a big helper today, Miss Sophie") and numerous attempts on Nick's part to flirt with Kurt's receptionist, they were done. The furniture was placed where they wanted, the curtains were hung, the kitchen was completely unpacked and everyone was exhausted.

People began trickling out after the last of the pizzas were gone until it was just Jenn, Finn, the Warblers, and Rachel and Brody. The guys were in the living room arguing about a football game that had somehow ended up on the new flat screen while the girls, Blaine, and Kurt cleaned up the mess.

"Did you put sheets on the bed already?" Kurt asked around a yawn.

"Yeah, I did it after we got the bed set up; I knew we would be too tired to do it tonight," Blaine replied, wiping his hands on a towel and tossing it on the counter. Kurt rolled his eyes, picking it up and hanging it over the handle of the oven.

"Thank you, sweetie. All right, I'm going to give Sophie a bath, get all the moving dirt off of her." Kurt sighed, heading into the living room with the girls and Blaine following. "Too bad it's too late for a nap; I could really use one."

As everyone vocalized their agreement, Jenn piped up. "Hey, do you want us to take Sophie tonight so you two can have some _alone_ time?" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, making Kurt blush.

"Really, Jenn? That would be awesome," Blaine said, smiling at her thankfully.

"Of course! You two need to christen the place." She let out a cackle at the horrified look on Finn's face.

"Babe, I really don't need to hear about my brother's sex life!" He scowled when Jenn just poked him in the stomach, still laughing.

"Rest assured, I don't want you knowing about it either, Finn. Are you sure, Jenn? I know you guys are tired too."

She flapped a hand in his direction. "Don't be silly, you know I wouldn't offer if I wasn't up to it."

Kurt kissed her cheek as he walked by. "Thank you." He and Sophie went upstairs to her room to dig out her overnight bag and pack. As soon as he was out of sight, Rachel tugged Blaine's sleeve until he tilted his head down towards her.

"Jenn and I left you guys a little surprise under the bed," she whispered before kissing his cheek. "Ready to go, lover?" she asked Brody, stepping away from Blaine to loop her arm through her boyfriends.

"Ready when you are."

"KURT, WE'RE LEAVING," Rachel yelled.

"GIVE ME A MINUTE, WE'RE ALMOST DONE," Kurt yelled back. Thirty seconds later, he and Sophie reemerged from upstairs, sparkly purple backpack in hand. Everyone exchanged goodbyes, the Warbler men heading to Nick's flat with saucy winks in Blaine's direction.

Finally they were alone, the silence echoing back at them. Kurt looked at Blaine and Blaine looked at Kurt and then they were falling into each other's arms, hugging tightly in the middle of their mostly packed up condo.

Their new home.

Blaine pulled back, kissing Kurt lightly. "I love you."

"I love you too." He dipped down for another kiss. "I can't believe we're in our new home."

"Me neither." They stood there for a moment, pressed together and just enjoying the silence. "I know they're thinking we're going to have sex but I'm just too tired," Blaine sighed. Kurt let out a chuckle.

"I hear you. I say we take advantage of the empty house and take that nap I suggested earlier." Blaine hummed in agreement and started backing Kurt towards their bedroom, never moving his arms from around Kurt's waist. Kurt laughed, burrowing his head into Blaine's shoulder until they reach the bedroom. He let go with a sigh and stepped back to gather a couple of towels, some clothes, and the box containing their bathroom products. "I'm gonna go take a quick shower; I feel so gross."

He had just set the box on the counter when he realized, "Don't you dare lay on that bed with your dirty clothes, Blaine Anderson!"

In the room, Blaine stood up from where he had been sitting on the edge of the bed, looking slightly guilty. He started stripping off his clothes when he remembered what Rachel had told him. Dropping to his hands and knees, he quickly located to aforementioned box and pulled it out, sitting on the floor and leaning back against the bed. Inside was a purple dildo, a small remote, anal beads, and a large bottle of lube with a note that just said, GET IT!

Rolling his eyes at their antics, he began putting everything back when he got an idea. Shucking his pants and underwear, he went to the bathroom, taking a moment to admire slightly distorted shape of Kurt through the shower door before opening it and stepping inside. Kurt grinned at him, letting out a yelp when Blaine pushed him against the cold tile of the shower wall. Their lips moved together easily thanks to the water, their bodies slick and warm where they were pressed flush against each other.

Kurt's tongue traced along the seam of Blaine's lips, exploring the heat of his mouth languidly when Blaine opened for him. Blaine's tongue caressed his, tangling together before he sucked on it. He felt his cock grow hard as one of Blaine's hands traced along the bottom curve of his ass before grabbing his thigh and hitching it up over Blaine's hip. Their cocks slotted together and Kurt moaned into Blaine's mouth, his cock fully hard against Blaine's as they rutted together. His head fell back, his face turning away from the spray as Blaine mouthed along his neck. They were both too tired to do more than thrust against each other slowly, tongues darting out to tease and taste. Kurt worked a hand between them, wrapping it around both of their cocks and stroking.

"Shit, I'm not going to last," Blaine grunted, his hand joining Kurt around them.

"Me either. Harder." They tightened their grips at the same time, working in tangent until they came, mouths pressed together and moving sloppily as the warm water began to cool. "Now I feel really gross," Kurt chuckled when he caught his breath."

"Mm, I'll clean you up." Blaine gave him one last kiss before stepping under the stream, his nose scrunching as the cold water washed over him. He adjusted the knobs until a fresh spray of hot water flowed out. He pulled Kurt under with him, rinsing them both off. They traded off to washing each other and by the time they got out, the water was frigid and their fingers were pruny. They made short work of drying off and putting on some shorts before falling into bed, their limbs tangled together as they drifted off to sleep.

***

When they woke up a few hours later, it was dark out and their stomachs were growling. A quick Internet search later, they were sitting in the living room waiting for their take home to arrive and playfully arguing about which movie to watch.

"I have an idea what we can do to pass the time," Kurt murmured, slowly sinking to his knees in front of Blaine. He carefully pulled down the fabric of the front of Blaine's shorts and tucked it beneath his balls as Blaine's cock began to stir with interest. Long, pale fingers wrapped around the base and eased it up so that Kurt could suck on the head. Blaine's hands came up to tangle in Kurt's hair, his eyes trained on those gloriously pink lips stretched around his cock as Kurt laved at the head until Blaine was completely hard. He began bobbing his head, his cheeks hollowing as he sucked. Blaine moaned, trying to stop his hips from thrusting into Kurt's mouth as he worked him over

"Ba-baby, what about the Thai?" Blaine panted, letting out a whine of frustration when Kurt pulled off, smirking.

"Is that a challenge?" Without waiting for an answer, he sunk his mouth back down, further than he had before. Placing his hand over one of Blaine's, he pushed, forcing his head down more in hopes Blaine would get the picture.

He did.

Kurt's tongue traced along the big vein on the bottom of Blaine's cock as he pulled back and when he went back down, Blaine's hands pushed his head lower. They kept up the rhythm of pulling and pushing until Kurt's nose was buried in the course hair at the base of Blaine's dick. Kurt hummed and sucked, one hand coming up to cup Blaine's balls, rolling them in his palm and Blaine feels the heat that had been building up low in his stomach snap and then he was coming down the back of Kurt's throat, a long, unbroken moan tearing from his throat.

Kurt pulled off with a cough, his eyes watering from too long with no oxygen but a smile was stretched across his lips as he sat back. His nose wrinkled as the smile became a frown and he eased himself on the couch with a groan. "I'm getting too old to be on my knees that long."

Blaine leaned over to kiss him, slow and sweet. "You'll never be too old in my book." Kurt smiled against his lips.

"Love you."

"Love you."

The doorbell rang then and Kurt jumped up to grab his wallet as Blaine tucked himself back into his pants. He was sure the driver knew something had happened, considering the blissed out look on his face and Kurt's just-fucked hair and smirk, but she said nothing, smiling as she handed off the bag of food and took the money, her eyes widening in surprise when she was told to keep the change (considering the rather large tip Kurt had given), thanking them brightly before bouncing off the steps back to her car. They spent the rest of the night cuddling on the couch, eating and watching late night cheesy sitcom reruns. And if Blaine later returns the favor in the kitchen, well, can you blame him? His boyfriend is hot.

It's not until he wakes up the next morning that it hits Blaine with the force of a freight train that he wants to marry Kurt one day. There have been many days when he's woken up tangled with Kurt and known that he wanted this every day for the rest of his life, but today, the first day he's woken up next to Kurt in a room that's theirs, that they've never shared with anyone before and don't plan on sharing, is when it really becomes clear. Watching Kurt sleep, his head pillowed on Blaine's chest, dark eyelashes fanned out against the pale skin of his cheeks, the sun illuminating his hair shoulders and making his hair look almost red, he found himself thinking, _I'm going to marry this man someday._

It took two more years before he finally asked.

He bought the ring three months after they moved into the condo, keeping it hidden in the private storage area in a box of high school mementos he had kept when he moved into his first flat. Occasionally he would find himself digging it out and brushing his fingers along the cool metal, trying to come up with the perfect proposal and then one day, it came to him.

There were arrangements to be made and he would have to wait a couple of months for the perfect day, but things easily fell into place. He made a few phone calls when the time came closer, but it all came together without a hitch.

The second week of February, he called Kurt's cell phone while he was at work. Normally he would just call the switchboard but not today.

"Blaine, is something wrong?" Kurt sounded frustrated but worried.

"No, not at all, I was just wondering if you wanted to meet up for lunch today? We can go to that bistro down the street; we haven't been in forever."

"Aren't you supposed to be in class right now?"

"I stepped out for a moment." It was a lie; he hadn't even gone to work that day. "Please?"

"All right, hold on." Covering the mouthpiece, he called out to Leigh, "Do I have any lunch appointments?"

Leigh poked her head around the corner. "No, just an appointment with Francine at 11:35. Do you need me to reschedule?"

Dealing with Francine, one of the editors, shouldn't take too long. "No, it's fine. Will you block off the whole noon hour so I can have lunch with Blaine?"

"Sure thing, Mr. Hummel." Kurt thought he caught a bit of a smirk on her face as she disappeared, but shrugged it off.

"How does noon sound, then?"

"That's perfect. See you then."

"Love you."

"Love you."

Scowling, Kurt rushed into the bistro ten minutes late, his eyes darting around for Blaine.

"Hey." He turned to find his boyfriend waving him over from a table next to the window. His hair was as carefully styled as always, though he used considerably less gel now than he did when they had first met (huh, in the same bistro, actually). He took a moment to admire the tight fit of Blaine's black button down, the sharp contrast of the bright red bowtie around his collar, and his laughing hazel eyes as they kissed briefly before settling at the table.

"I'm so sorry about being late, Francine kept going on and on and just-" Kurt let out a growl of frustration, rolling his eyes as he picked up the menu. "How has your day been?"

"Busy, but not bad." They both smiled as the waiter appeared at Kurt's elbow, throwing a secretive wink at Blaine.

"Hello, gentlemen, how are you today?"

"Good, good. How are you, Julius?" Kurt asked, lowering his menu and smiling up at his old friend. "How is your family?"

"They are doing well, Mr. Hummel. Do you know what you want to eat?"

"The usual for me," Kurt replied, looking expectantly at Blaine.

"A club sandwich for me, please." He smiled up at Julius as they handed over their menus and Julius hurried off to drop off their orders and get the drinks. They talk about nothing as they eat and it isn't until they've pushed their plates away that Kurt finally asked, "So is today a special occasion or what?"

Blaine looked at him for a moment, a small smile on his lips. "You don't know?"

"Know what?" Kurt can't shake the feeling that he's missing something.

"Today, my love, is the five year anniversary of the first time we met."

Kurt let out a laugh. "Is it really? I can't believe how much is changed." He smiled, reaching across the table to grip Blaine's hand. "Five years ago, I never thought I would meet someone like you."

"Hey, now, it's my turn to do a romantic speech," Blaine scolded, smirking. "You actually stole my opening line, too, you jerk."

Another peal of laughter tore from Kurt's throat. "I'm sorry, I wasn't aware! Please, continue."

Blaine cleared his throat somewhat obnoxiously. "Five years ago, I never thought I would meet someone like you. I was just drifting around, trying to find my place in the city that will swallow you whole if you let it, until one day I saw an ad in the paper looking for a nanny. On a whim, I went for it and it led me to the most beautiful man I had ever met. My stomach was in knots that whole first day after meeting you. You just seemed too good to be true. You're kind and wonderful and selfless and, yes, sometimes a raging bitch, but that's one of the things I love about you. I love your smile, when you laugh and your nose scrunches up, even though you worry it will give you wrinkles, I think it's one of the best things about you. I love waking up with you every morning, watching the sun warm your skin. I love cooking dinner with you and our daughter every night. Every day, I think of how lucky I am to have you, that you _chose_ me, and I want to be yours forever." Kurt wiped at his eyes with his free hand, unsurprised to find tears streaming down. He frowned when Blaine let go of his hand, kneeling on the ground and then there was a little black box in his hand. "Kurt Hummel, will you please make me the happiest man on earth by agreeing to marry me?"

Kurt let out a choked sob and nodded. "Yes, yes, I will marry you, you silly man. How could I not?" With shaking fingers, Blaine slid the ring on and then they were in each other's arms, hugging, their lips pressed together, smiling too much to really kiss properly as cheers rang out across the restaurant. Family and friends flooded the place, congratulating them, but neither moved far away from the other, some part of their bodies always touching, huge smiles never leaving their lips.


	8. Chapter 8

_Two years later..._

Blaine fingered some product into his curls as Santana wormed her way into the hotel bathroom, clad only in a purple lace bra and panty set. He didn't even blink at her lack of clothing, just caught her eye in the mirror.

"Come on, San, I know we're going to more than just dinner if you're dressed like that."

She rolled her eyes as she began applying her makeup. "I'm not wearing this, I have a dress."

"Smartass. I know your going out clothes and those have _party_ written all over them."

"Maybe I just want to feel sexy tonight, asshole."

"San..." He knew he was whining but she had been so secretive about their plans and he hated it.

She finally turned to look at him, her hand coming up to pinch his cheek. "Aw, is baby Blainers upset with me?" she cooed.

He swatted her hand away. "Yes. And don't call me Blainers!" He headed back into the main part of her hotel room and flopped down on the bed.

It was one week before his and Kurt's wedding and, as his maid of honor, Santana had flown in to hang out. She had only been in town two days so far, long enough to settle in and sleep off jet lag, but now he was wondering how long she had been planning... whatever she was planning.

A thought popped into his head and he sat up straight. "This better not be a surprise bachelor party!" he yelled.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Blainers."

His suspicions were not alleviated when Santana pulled him down the streets towards the area where a lot of clubs were. He tried digging his heels in to stop her but Santana was freakishly strong.

"San, Kurt and I _told_ you guys that we didn't want bachelor parties," he whined.

"Oh, come on! You only get married once!"

"Lots of people get married more than once."

Santana shot him a look over her shoulder. "You're not 'lots of people,' B. I know you, too well sometimes. Kurt is it for you; there's not going to be someone else, ever. You two are going to be that disgusting old couple in the nursing home that the nurses all coo over and that annoys all the other patients with your lovey-dovey attitude." She stopped with a sigh, turning to look at him. "Look, I know you think this is going to be this horrible thing tonight, but it's not. Just, just trust me, okay?"

Blaine have her a half smile and squeezed her hand. "All right, fine."

"Thank god, I didn't want to waste more of my maid of honor speech." She started pulling him again and it took a moment of looking around to him to realize they were near Nick's club.

"Hey, San-"

"GODDAMN IT, RACHEL, LET ME GO!"

Blaine's eyes searched the street for that oh so familiar voice. Coming at them from the opposite direction was Rachel and Kurt, who looked breathtaking in a pair of sinfully tight black jeans and a pressed white button up, the sleeves rolled up to show off his muscular forearms and the top buttons undone, allowing a peek at his clavicle. His outfit was simple and understated and it made Blaine's jaw drop. His fiancée was usually wrapped in layers and, while he always looked good, the rare sight of him dressed down while being dressed up made Blaine's heart clench. He didn't think Kurt would ever stop surprising him.

"Kurt?"

Kurt stopped struggling with Rachel and looked up. "Blaine?" He turned to his friend. "Rachel, what is going on?"

Rachel shrugged. "We knew you and Blaine didn't want bachelor parties, but Santana and I really wanted to throw you one, so we got together and planned a double bachelor party."

"Nick said we could use the club for it, since it has the space and booze," Santana pitched in.

"And I called up your favorite DJ and cashed in a favor," a new voice says from nearby. They turn to look and see Nick leaning casually against the building of his club. He stepped out of the back alley way and walked towards them. "Now, these girls have done a lot in a short amount of time, so you two are going to come with me through the back way, since there's a crowd of people who didn't get the message that we're closed tonight in the front, you're going to dance and drink and have a fun ass time. Do you understand?" He winked and grinned as he said it, belying his serious tone.

Blaine lets out a laugh and moves forward to hug his friend. "Sounds like a good idea to me." Reaching back, Kurt's hand automatically finds his and their fingers lace together as the four of them follow Nick inside. Music thumps out of the open door, pressing on them the closer they get. Inside, it's dark and there are already several people out on the dance floor, moving in time with the music. Not near as many as there would be if the club was open to the public, but still a lot. They wave to friends and are stopped a couple of times, everyone offering their congratulations on the pending wedding. Nick hurried them along after each stop until they finally reached the bar. Shots were pushed across the dark wood and they toasted before downing them.

They're pulled out onto the dance floor, into the pressing mass of writhing bodies. Their cups never seem to empty as the night goes on. The music is always lively and fun. The only hitch is comes about an hour after they arrive.

Kurt hadn't noticed the empty space near the DJ booth when they arrived, but he wasn't as familiar with the club as Blaine. But what was just a curious anomaly before was now obviously a dais, two throne like chairs seated next to each other on it. A thought nagged at the back of Blaine's brain, but he pushed it away, paying more attention to Kurt's body pressed against his front and Santana's pressed against his back.

The music cut off abruptly and Rachel's voice crackled over the speakers in the club. "Heeeeeeeey, everybody, we havin' fun tonight?!"

The crowd screamed the affirmative, holding up their drinks as though making an offering.

"Good, good!" Santana started pushing Kurt towards the dais just as Nick did the same to Blaine, Rachel still speaking to the crowd. "Well, as you all know, tonight we're celebrating the death of two dear friends single-dom." The boys were shoved into the chairs and given warning glares. "As a present, we decided to give the boys a little surprise."

"I thought the party was the surprise," Kurt said, loud enough to be heard over the hoots their friends are making. A feeling of dread pools in Blaine's stomach.

"You don't think..."

_Toxic_ by Brittany Spears blared over the sound system, blocking anything else he might say, and suddenly two unfamiliar people were breaking through the crowd.

"Please tell me this isn't what I think it is," Kurt groaned as the crowd began catcalling, obviously knowing the plan ahead of time.

"I think it is." Blaine sighed as the two people joined them on the dais.

"For their last night of freedom, we wanted to do a little something special for our boys," Santana said into the microphone. Instead of just taking it from Rachel, she had her hand wrapped around the smaller girls.

"WE'RE GAY," Kurt and Blaine yelled at the same time.

"Well, the strippers aren't just for you," Rachel giggled, throwing them a wink as the man and woman began grinding against them. The woman, a pretty Asian girl with heavily made eyes and long, curly hair, draped her arms around Kurt's shoulders as the man, tall with dark skin and smoldering eyes, straddled Blaine's lap.

"Hey, don't worry, cutie," she murmured. "We're not going to do anything too crazy with you guys."

"With all due respect, all of this is a bit too crazy for my tastes," Kurt joked. His hands clenched on the arm rest of the chair, trying to keep his eyes on the girls' hair.

She spun around, grinding her ass on his crotch while looking at him coyly. "Don't worry, sweetie, I'll do all the work." She winked, her head falling back on his shoulder. "They told me you were cute, but I wasn't prepared for how cute. Are you sure you're gay?"

Kurt let out a laugh, an actual genuine one. "Yes, very gay and very, very in love with my fiancée."

The girl sighed, turning again and bending in front of him until her face was over his crotch and her ass was sticking out into the audience. "Damn, that really sucks. I'm not saying this because it's my job, you really are a hottie and if I had half a chance..." She trailed off with another wink and Kurt glanced over to see how Blaine was doing.

_I'm going to kill all these mother fuckers,_ Blaine thought viciously as the male stripper straddled his lap. "Uh-"

"Which one are you?" the guy asked as he rolled his hips, his well oiled abs _wow those are some nice abs though_ flexing directly in front of Blaine's face.

"Um, I'm Blaine."

"Hi, Blaine."

"...Hi?"

The guy laughed, deep and rumbly, his eyes crinkling as he smiled down at Blaine. "Is this the first time you've ever gotten a lap dance?"

Blaine's mind automatically flashed back to the second birthday of his that he had celebrated with Kurt as an official couple. "The first professional one," he admitted.

"Well, don't be nervous, I don't bite. Unless you want me to," he added with a wink as he dropped down and ground his ass on Blaine's thighs.

Blaine gaped for a moment as the guy stood and turned around before stuttering, "I- no, I'm- I love- Okay, please stop doing that, I love my fiancée very much."

"Oh, I bet you do! Don't worry, honey, I'm definitely straight. The teasing comes along with the dance," the guy told him, his chest arching as his face skimmed along Blaine's legs, up his chest to his neck.

Blaine just blinked at him. "What?"

"Yup, straight as an arrow. Your friends," he nodded very slightly towards Santana and Rachel, who were giggling as they snapped picture after picture of Kurt and Blaine with the strippers, "wanted to make sure you had a good time without really worrying. That's why they got a girl and a straight guy."

"Oh! Well, that's... strangely nice of them," Blaine chuckled, feeling the tension drain out of him a bit. "Santana is usually more of a torture-them-until-they-break kind of friend."

The guy laughed again as he worked his body over Blaine. "She seems like a sharp one. So, when's your wedding?"

"Next week, actually."

"Oh, yeah? At least you won't have to deal with a hangover then, huh?"

"I guess not. One more point for our friends," Blaine laughed.

The song switched then, _Rock That Body_ by The Black Eyed Peas. "See you later, cutie." The guy winked before striding over to where Kurt was shooting him a look that screamed _GET ME OUT OF HERE_. Blaine shrugged helplessly before he got a lapful of girl.

"Well, hello there!" she giggled, fluttering her eyelashes as she wiggled in his lap, her arms wrapping loosely around his neck. His arms came up automatically to hold her steady.

"Hi."

Thankfully after that song ended, the strippers moved away, kissing them both on their cheeks before putting their clothes back on and moving to the bar to get something to drink. Santana and Rachel sauntered over, plopping themselves into the guys laps.

"So how mad are you?" Rachel asked, pouting as her arms curled around Kurt's neck and laying her head on his shoulder. He glanced over at Blaine, who had moved his throne/chair/thing closer to Kurt's, his arms wrapped around Santana's waist.

"Not too mad," Kurt admitted. "They were really nice, even if the girl did leave glitter all over my pants." He looked pointedly down where Rachel was perched.

She rolled her eyes and squirmed in his lap. "I love GLITTER!"

Santana smacked a kiss on Blaine's lips and stood, pulling him to his feet. "Come on, glitter kids, let's do some fucking shots!" She latched onto Blaine, who grabbed Rachel, who hauled Kurt to his feet. The first two were taken normally, albeit back to back. After that, Santana decided they should try body shots.

Shots and drinks were constantly being shoved into their hands until they were passed the tipsy stage. Though the party was still thumping around them, Blaine wove his fingers through Kurt's and tugged, leading him through the crowd towards the back of the club. Kurt grinned as he recognized the door to the VIP lounge.

As soon as the door closed behind them, the music dropped in volume, leaving their ears buzzing slightly as Blaine pressed him against the wall next to the door, head on Kurt's shoulder. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to get away for a bit," Blaine murmured.

Kurt's arms came up to wrap around his waist. "No, baby, it's fine, it was getting to be a bit too much for me too." He let out a chuckle. "I guess we're too old for the club scene now," he joked, feeling Blaine's chest rumble as he laughed.

"I guess we are." He turned his head, pressing a kiss to the exposed skin of Kurt's neck. "Love you."

"Love you."

They stood there for a moment, feeling the bass through the wall and just soaking each other in.

"Come on." Kurt pushed off the wall and led Blaine to one of the couches, stretching out on the plush furniture. Blaine lay down beside him, pressing him into the back of it as their legs tangled together, their chests brushing against each other with every breath.

Their lips came together, softly at first, light touches that soon became more demanding. The flavor of tequila was still heavy on their tongues as Blaine ran his along Kurt's, sucking on it as his hand came up to tug at the back of Kurt's shirt. Kurt's breath hitched as the calloused hand came in contact with the smooth skin of his lower back. His hips arched forward on their own accord, his cock growing hard against his zipper as his hand carded through Blaine's hair, sweaty and loose from dancing.

"Fuck," he groaned when Blaine tore his mouth away to nip down his jaw. Blaine's hand slid lower, teasing the band of Kurt's pants, his fingertips ghosting over the swell of that gorgeous ass. "Blaine, please."

"Please what, baby?" Blaine asked, his breath teasing the damp skin of Kurt's neck.

"Please, touch me."

"I am touching you." Blaine's fingers dug into his back as if to prove his point and Kurt could feel his smirk as he sucked lightly on the underside of his jaw.

With a growl, Kurt flipped them until Blaine was on his back, Kurt hovering over him. Blaine grinned, his legs falling open without a second thought as he pressed Kurt's hips down. They moaned simultaneously as their hard cocks rubbed against each other through the material of their pants.

"God, Kurt, you feel so good, baby, yeah." His free hand came up to palm Kurt before undoing his pants. It slid back to join its twin and both dipped inside. With a jolt of surprise, Blaine leaned back the best he could to look at Kurt's face. "My word, Mr. Hummel, you don't seem to be wearing any underwear! How scandalous!" He put on an affronted expression as he started kneading Kurt's ass.

"Nope, was hoping my awesome fiancée was going to get a little frisky tonight." Kurt leered down at him, arching his ass while trying to roll his hips down at the same time.

"Mm, more than a little." He dragged Kurt down for a searing kiss, shoving Kurt's pants down to just below his ass cheeks before flipping them. "Want you so much, Kurt." He pushed Kurt's shirt up as Kurt's hand quickly undid his pants. Blaine shoved them down eagerly and straddled Kurt's thigh. It was a little awkward until they got their rhythm and then nothing else mattered.

Their cocks slid against each other, bare skin to bare skin, the dry skin catching uncomfortably at times until enough sweat and precome built up to help them guide smoothly. Kurt's manicured nails raked down Blaine's back under his shirt, his head thrown back as Blaine mouthed at the salty skin there.

"Fuck, so close, baby." Blaine groaned, biting down on his pulse point. "Wish I could fuck you right here, you'd feel so good around me. Feel so good right now."

Kurt let out a whine, nails digging into Blaine's shoulder blades. "God, yes, that's- yes. OH- Oh god, right there..." He bit the piece of skin nearest to him as his orgasm washed over him, which just so happened to be Blaine's ear lobe, the one place on Blaine's body guaranteed to make him weak at the knees. Blaine shuddered against him, fingers digging into Kurt's hips as he came.

Blaine waited until he caught his breath, his arms trembling from the effort of keeping his weight off of Kurt, before staggering to his feet to get some napkins from the small bar, doing up his pants as he walked. His head was swimming from alcohol and orgasm, but he managed to make it there and back, taking care to wipe Kurt's stomach and cock clean before doing the same to himself. Reverently, he tucked Kurt back into his pants and pulled his shirt down. Kurt beckoned him down, demanding cuddles as they curled up on the couch. Kurt could feel sweat drying, making his skin feel stiff and gross. He pushed the thought aside and attempted to move even closer to Blaine. Post sex cuddles took precedent over hygiene any day.

888

Blaine watched as his almost-husband flitted around the room, fussing over flower arrangements and the chair coverings, his lips quirked in a small smile.

They were set to get married in three hours, but Kurt was having a minor panic attack over every little thing. Blaine was pretty sure he was just fussing due to nerves, but then again, Kurt did have a better eye for these sorts of things than Blaine. He waited until Kurt was brushing past him to grab his wrist, pulling him up short. Before he could protest, Blaine was kissing him, cupping his face in both hands.

"Everything is fine," Blaine murmured when they separated. "The cake will be here on time, the chairs look good, the flower arrangements are perfect, the tables are set, we're here." His thumbs rubbed over Kurt's cheekbones, watching Kurt's eyelashes fan out as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, smiling.

"You're right, you're right. I've just heard so many horror stories and I want our day to be perfect."

Blaine leaned in for another kiss, a teasing brush of lips, and rested his forehead against Kurt's. "It's going to be perfect no matter what, because at the end of the day, our names will be drying on that marriage certificate and that's all that matters."

Kurt's cheeks dimpled as his smile grew. "How did I get so lucky as to find someone like you?"

"I don't know, but I think I got it too."

They kiss once more and take a step back as a voice pipes up, "Papa's right, Daddy, you're being silly."

They turn to look at their daughter, elegant in a silky white dress, fitted perfectly to her thin frame. Kurt had even allowed her to wear small heels on her shoes, white with soft green swirls on top that perfectly matched the sash wrapped around her waist. "You're dressed already, Miss Sophie?" Blaine teased, letting go of one of Kurt's hands to open their arms to her.

"Papa," Sophie whined, though she hurried over to be enveloped in her father's embrace. "You said you were going to stop calling me that."

Blaine pretended to look contemplative for a moment. "I don't think I did, Miss Sophie. I certainly don't recall that."

"That's because you're old," Kurt joked. Blaine stuck out his tongue. "Old and immature, what a combination!"

"Why are you so mean to me? Sophie, make Daddy be nice!"

"Oh, no, you're not dragging me into this!" Sophie yelped, squirming out of their grasp. "Uh, I think I hear Aunt Jen calling for me to get my hair fixed, BYE!" She took off, wobbling only slightly on her heels.

"Well, she certainly got her penchant for horrible excuses from you," Blaine quipped, bumping his shoulder against Kurt's.

"Whatever, I have awesome excuses."

"Excuses are like buttholes: everyone has one and they all stink."

Kurt stared at him for a moment in slight horror. "I'm going to walk away before I decided I don't want to marry your crazy ass."

"You love my ass!" Blaine yelled at his retreating back, grinning.

They had decided to keep the ceremony short and simple. First Cooper and Finn would go down the middle aisle as their Best Men, followed by Santana and Rachel as the Maids of Honor. Blaine watched them from his vantage point on the right and caught the look on his best friends face. His mind flashed to the bachelor party and long, lingering body shots that she and Rachel had taken off of each other.

Huh.

Blaine shook himself out of his thoughts as they settled in place and then their song came on. His dad patted his hand where it was hooked over his elbow.

"Ready?"

He couldn't keep the smile off his face if he tried. "As I'll ever be."

Walking down the aisle proved to be difficult because he couldn't keep his eyes off of Kurt. Thankfully James seemed to know that was going to happen and led him with care until they were in front of everyone. He handed Blaine off to Burt at the same time Burt handed Kurt to James. They embraced, the fathers whispering into their son-in-laws ears, blinking back tears when they separated and gave their boys hands one last squeeze. They sat next to each other, wives on either side, as Kurt looked at Blaine and Blaine looked at Kurt, their hands held between them as the Justice of Peace began his speech.

No matter how short the ceremony, it still felt like too long before they were saying, "I do." and sliding rings on fingers. Their kiss was met with whooping and cheering as Blaine tightened his arms around Kurt's waist and dipped him low. He felt Kurt's answering giggle as his tongue darted out to tease the seam of Kurt's lips before he was straightening them up, pulling back only to dart back in for one more quick one as the JP said, "I present to you, Mr. and Mr. Anderson-Hummel!"

888

Ducking as they were pelted with birdseed, Kurt and Blaine hurried out to the waiting limo, their hands laced together, giddy at the feel of their new rings. Laughing as they slid inside, Blaine began brushing Kurt off before digging his hand in his hair and bringing him in for a kiss.

"Hello, husband," he murmured against Kurt's lips.

"Hello, Mr. Anderson-Hummel," Kurt replied, grinning, his eyelashes brushing against Blaine's cheek with every blink.

"We're finally married."

"Yup. Now we have to own up to it every time one of our friends calls us old marrieds," Kurt chuckled, sitting back as the limo pulled away from the curb and took them to the reception hall. "I don't think I could have picked a better partner."

"Well, lucky for you, you don't have to."

The ride was short and soon they were stepping into the wide open ballroom. They, along with the Warblers and Kurt's friends, had spent hours the night before setting the room up to Kurt's exact specifications. They spent a few minutes checking to make sure everything was set up before Kurt finally gave in and headed to the kitchens, wanting to look at the wedding cake.

"Oh, Blaine, it's perfect," Kurt breathed, squeezing Blaine's hand as they walked around the tray it was set on while cooks and servers moved around them, preparing dinner for the party.

It was a simple affair, a three tiered white cake with pale green ribbon wrapped around the bottom of each layer and a line of green and dark pink flowers trailing diagonally down the side. Sophie had rolled her eyes when she first saw the design, saying it was too boring and can't they, I don't know, spice it up a little, Daddy? When asked what she had in mind, Sophie had pulled out a picture of some flowers and asked if they could be added to the cake because she thought they were pretty. Kurt had to admit, looking at the final product, the flowers did offset the cake in a flattering way without overtaking the whole thing.

Of course, he was pretty sure their daughter was going to end up sticking half of them in her hair before the night was through, but that was okay, too.

There was a sudden clatter outside and the two left the kitchen, heading to a room off to the side where they would wait until the guest had settled before going back into the ballroom to be, once again, introduced. They were greeted with cheers as they made their way to the head table where their families were already seated. They waited until dinner had been served before people began making speeches.

It started in the crowd, a few people wanting to give their congratulations and maybe tell a funny story, before it moved to the head table. To no one's surprise, Santana went first, telling a few embarrassing stories from her and Blaine's childhood and, indeed, reiterating part of what she told him the night of their bachelor party. Rachel went next, followed by Cooper and then Finn. Burt and James each gave a brief toast that caused more than a few eyes to dampen and then it was Blaine's turn.

He took a quick drink of water as he stood, clearing his throat and looking out into the crowd. "First, I want to thank all of you for coming to celebrate Kurt and mine's wedding. We could not be more honored to be surrounded by all of our loved ones on this day." He looked at Kurt, who was smiling up at him like he had hung the moon. "Kurt, the first time we kissed, sparks flew. Over the years, we've fanned those sparks into flames that have lit up my life in ways I had only dreamed about as a teenager. Those flames warm my heart every day and keep me going no matter how bad we fight, how crazy we drive each other." He pauses for a second, letting out a chuckle before continuing. "The first time we met, I thought, how gorgeous is this man?, even though you looked frazzled and had a screaming baby on your hip." The crowd laughed and Sophie, seated on the other side of her father, rolled her eyes, not quite able to hide her grin.

"I couldn't wait to get to know you and when I did, I thought, oh, there you are, I've been looking for you forever. We had some ups and downs but we found our way back to each other. On our first Halloween as a couple, you dressed like Peter Pan, Miss Sophie dressed as the cutest Tinker Bell ever," Sophie stuck out her tongue, fully grinning as Blaine does the same back at her, "and me dressed as Elvis-"

"You did a great impression, I'll admit," Kurt cut in, his eyes shining with tears, his face nearly split in half from grinning.

Blaine let out a laugh, his own eyes misty. "Well, thank you, my love. But on that day, as I laced our fingers together, I thought, I want to spend the rest of our lives like this. The years passed and we dealt with tragedy and happiness and so many things. The first night after we moved in together, I thought, I'm going to marry this man. Took me two years to figure out how to ask and now we're finally here, married. You are the love of my life, Kurt, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life as your husband."

More than one person was crying as Kurt stood, wrapping his arms around Blaine's shoulders and kissing him soundly.

"I love you so much," he whispered as they broke apart, pressing one last kiss to Blaine's lips and letting him go. He carefully dabbed at his eyes as Blaine sat down. Looking at their gathered family and friends, he let out a chuckle."I'm not sure I want to follow that." Everyone laughed around their sniffles. "Like my new husband, I want to say thank you to you all for sharing this day with us. Blaine, I am so incredibly blessed to have you in my life. You are my other half, my soul mate. From the first day I saw you, something clicked, and not just because you were the best baby sitter I've ever had, but because you got me in ways that so few people ever have. You've always known just when to push and when to let me do my own thing. I never thought I would find the kind of love we share with anyone and I had prepared myself for a lifetime of being a single father who would end up owning fifty cats after my daughter ran off to college. Even during our rough patches, I know how much we mean to each other and that our love get us through whatever life throws our way. Even if it's fifty cats."

"We're not getting fifty cats, Kurt," Blaine laughed, wiping under his eyes unashamedly.

Kurt let out an exaggerated sigh. "Damn." The crowd let out a laugh, though Carole tutted from her spot behind Blaine, her eyes flicking over to Sophie.

"Oops, sorry, Sophie," Kurt said, turning to his daughter and winking. "That's a bad word, don't say it."

"Whatever, Daddy." Sophie just rolled her eyes again.

"Keep that up and they'll stay that way," Kurt warned before turning back to Blaine. "My only sadness is that we hadn't found each other sooner so that Aunt Delia could have been here, but I know she's watching us right now, rolling her eyes and saying, about time, you idiots! She knew we were meant to be together and had even tried pushing me towards you that first summer you came with us for Fourth of July, but I was stubborn and didn't listen." He glanced at the ceiling. "This one's for you, Aunt Delia. Hope you're dancing around, wherever you are."

Everyone raised a glass in toast again, a low murmur of "Hear, hear," sounding around the room. Kurt leaned down, cupping Blaine's face and kissing him sweetly.

"You were amazing," Blaine whispered.

Kurt smiled as he sat down. "Not as much as yours. I should have cheated at the coin toss," he joked.

Blaine tugged on his hand. "Hey, it was perfect. I love you."

"I love you."

They finished up their food as the DJ settled into her seat and checked over her equipment. After getting the nod from Kurt, she tapped on the microphone and said, "Welcome, everyone, to the Anderson-Hummel reception. My name is JoJo and I'll be taking requests in between songs, but for now, the grooms would like to have their first dance."

The lights dimmed as the music started.

_It's undeniable that we should be together_

Blaine stood, buttoning the middle of his suit together and holding out his hand to Kurt. "May I have this dance?"

A sweet smile came over Kurt's face as he slipped his hand into Blaine's and allowed him to lead him onto the dance floor. He twirled Kurt out before bringing him close, their bodies pressed as close as they could get. There was little dancing as they held each other, one hand twined together between their chests and Kurt's arm went around Blaine's neck while Blaine's snaked around Kurt's waist. Their cheeks were pressed together, eyes closed as they soaked up the moment.

"I have never loved you more," Blaine said, his voice barely traveling over the music, for Kurt's ears only. "Tomorrow that will be just as true as today."

And then he woke up.

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Just kidding! :D

**A/N: Okay, a list of thanks to follow.**

**First and foremost, a HUGE thank you to Angie (gleeddicted on tumblr). Without her gifset, this verse would have never been created. In my excitement at the end of SMF, I forgot to add her in my thanks, but not this time! Angie, thank you, thank you, thank you!**

**Second, thanks to ze muse a.k.a. sombrero-p for her tireless patience with this verse. I know you haven't been able to do anything the past few months, but most of this wouldn't have been written if not for you and so you have all of my love.**

**Third, thanks to le muse a.k.a. sedatedartist, who helped me with this last chapter while I floundered around and also because of other helping with my ADHD which is one of the reasons I couldn't get this fucker out. I'll buy you that oreo desert thing next time we go out ;)**

**And finally, the biggest thank you of all to you guys, the readers, the reviewers, the fic rec'ers. Thank you for sticking with me, even if you hated the last chapter of SMF. Thank you for your lovely reviews. Thank you for the favorites and the follows and letting me know, often without saying it, how much you like the story. From the bottom of my feet, THANK YOU.**

**One last note, if you're still reading: I will be accepting prompts for this verse, so if there's anything you want to know, just leave me a message on tumblr ONLY (the link is in my profile) and I will do what I can to fill them. If you've already sent me a prompt, I'm going to have to ask you to send it again because I lost them all (I know, I suck, I'm sorry!).**

**Once again, thank you all so much!**

**(Link to the cake in my profile)**


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